CID investigators are still waiting for the Executive Director of DFCU Bank to give them an audit report of an estimated Shs4 billion that is suspected to have been stolen from the accounts of the bank’s depositors through connivance of the fraudsters and some bank officials months ago.
police now say, they have suspicion that the fraud was an internal job.
“On 25th/07/2019, the Director CID requested for an audit report from the Executive Director DFCU Bank but there is no response up now,” a leaked letter addressed to DFCU Bank Executive Director says.
“We suspect connivance of the fraudsters with the DFCU Bank officials because the owners of the affected bank accounts could not be traced. And the bank has refused to provide the audit report,” the letter signed by Bernard Sisye Kiirya for Director Criminal Investigations says.
CID is also investigating a case of electronic fraud, unauthorized access and theft of about 438.6 million where it is alleged that between May 14, 2019 and May 28, 2019, four DFCU Bank customers’ simcards were swapped without their knowledge and the money was transferred to 15 DFCU Bank accounts then later withdrawn using ATMs and various mobile money accounts on both MTN and Airtel.
Surprisingly it is DFCU Bank under vide CID Hqtrs GEF 604/2019 which reported the theft of about Shs438.6 million where it alleged that unknown persons gained unauthorized access to various accounts in the bank and transferred the money to MTN and Airtel mobile numbers and later withdrawn.
Yet DFCU Bank CEO Mathias Katamba, who was supposed to hand over the audit report to the investigating officer D/ASP Bill Ndyamuhaki to facilitate investigations into the matter, has not done so.
Investigators have established that four simcards (0703556811, 0705172493, 0751474707 and 0754723608) of four DFCU Bank account registered owners were swapped and the said money (about Shs438.6 million) withdrawn using ATMs and mobile money numbers.
According to a leaked document, five suspects; Braise Ombuze, Moses Bbosa, Samson Isoba, Cedric Nsamba and Ismail Kakooza have been interrogated, leading to a one Richard Jingo who is still at large. Further investigation established a one Francis Twinobusigye used Bbosa’s DFCU Bank account, his ATM and Simcard where Shs15.3 million was fraudulently received and withdrawn using the ATM and mobile money.
Dfcu bank in July in its official statement on accepted it detected signs of fraud in its system in May where billions of shillings were withdrawn by hackers who had internal collaborators.
The bank in a statement said investigations were on-going and urged its clients and depositors to stay put.
According to a police bond that Eagle Online obtained then, one of the suspects is identified as Braise Ombuze and was charged with the offense of Electronic Fraud and Theft under a reference Vide CID HQTRS GEF 604/2019.
Braise had been detained at CID head offices in Kibuli Kampala.
The police bond dated June 29 instructed Mr. Braise to appear at Kibuli on July 1, at 10 am for reporting.
“And continue to attend until otherwise directed by court further to answer to the said charge,” the police bond reads in part. The suspect was bailed out by two sureties, Ambrose Belisya and a one Esther.
Braise is among six suspects who breached DFCU’s system and accessed customers’ information.$2.6M depositors’ money has since been stolen.
Earlier reports suggested the crime was executed by four junior staff and two outsiders.
Sources had previously said that the hackers first accessed shs700 million through ATMs.
The hackers cracked the bank’s system and started using “old unauthorized ATM cards” allegedly belonging to a number of pseudo customers “created by these hackers. However, police investigators now say the so called fraud could have been an internal scheme known to bosses of the bank to wire money from the suspension account.
