The government of Uganda has admitted that Bank of Uganda accounts were hacked and money stolen.
The admission was made by Henry Musasizi, Minister of State for Finance during the plenary today.
However, Musasizi denied the Shs62 billion being reported by the media as the amount lost in the Central Bank’s heist.
“I am astonished to what several media houses have been reporting. I wish to state that our accounts were hacked into but not to the extent of what is being reported. When this happened, we instituted an audit and at the same time, an investigation,” Musasizi revealed.
He added that the Auditor General is doing the audit and the Criminal Investigation Department at the same time is doing an investigation on the scandal.
Musasizi declined to divulge details of the Central Bank heist, calling for patience pending final results from the audit and investigation.
He noted, “To avoid misrepresentation of facts, I wish to seek the indulgence of this House that we be patient, when the audit is finalized, which is now at the tail end, and also CID finalize investigation, I come to this House and report. Otherwise, as of now, any matter I disclose on this issue, I risk misrepresentation of facts.”
Joel Ssenyonyi, Leader of Opposition wondered why Uganda’s Banking sector has become prone to fraud, arguing that other commercial banks have also reported these fraud incidences in the past two months.
“There are some matters that alarm us. The Fourth Estate has reported, including government media houses, a heist at the Bank of Uganda. Some reports have indicated $17 Million that is about Shs62 billion. Some narratives were that there was some hacking by some people in South Asia and this money was swiped to accounts in Asia. Other reports indicate that this was an inside job inside the Bank of Uganda,” Ssenyonyi wondered.
Ssenyonyi urged that the government through the Ministry of Finance should help Ugandans understand this issue because it is the ministry that supervises the operations of the central Bank.
“It is important we know what exactly is happening at our Central Bank. Monies are being siphoned whether it be by hackers, whether it be by staff. So, the government shouldn’t continue being quiet about this matter, we want to know what exactly is happening,” Ssenyonyi urged.
