Uganda’s Accountant General Arrested Over $16M Bank Heist

The arrests mark a significant crackdown on financial fraud at the highest levels of government

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Image Credit: Serrari Group

Ugandan authorities have arrested Accountant General Lawrence Semakula and eight senior officials for their role in a $16 million heist from the Bank of Uganda (BoU) in September 2024.

Why it matters

The stolen funds were earmarked for repaying loans to the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank but were instead diverted to accounts in Japan and the UK.

The arrests mark a significant crackdown on financial fraud at the highest levels of government.

The details

  • Uganda’s legislature forwarded an audit of the heist to the Criminal Investigations Department in early January.
  • A forensic audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found that government digital systems were manipulated to siphon off funds.
  • These fraud incidents were initiated outside the BoU IT systems to divert the funds,” said Acting BoU Governor Dr. Michael Atingi-Ego in December.
  • BoU initially clashed with the Finance Ministry over the heist but has since recovered $8.2 million, mostly from MJS International, a London-based entity.

The big picture

The heist exposes vulnerabilities in Uganda’s financial systems, particularly the country’s central accounting system (IFMS), which failed to detect the fraud in time.

It also raises concerns about the security of digital transaction platforms meant to enhance accountability.

Source: Kenyan Wallstreet


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