The Auditor General’s forensic audit into the alleged loss of Shs60 billion from the Bank of Uganda (BoU) has been handed over to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (CID) for further scrutiny.
Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, forwarded the report to the CID after it was tabled before Parliament on Thursday, 09 January 2025, by Government Chief Whip Hon. Denis Hamison Obua.
Speaker Among explained that consultations with President Yoweri Museveni informed the decision to escalate the matter for criminal investigation.
“Upon reviewing the findings, it is clear that the issues raised in the report are criminal in nature. Therefore, we are directing the report to the CID for appropriate handling,” she said.
Requests from Ndorwa County East MP Hon. Wilfred Niwagaba and Tororo North County MP Hon. Geofrey Ekanya to first have the report scrutinized by Parliament’s committees were declined.
“I believed that since this is part of the Auditor General’s report, it should be sent to the relevant parliamentary committee for review before considering whether to involve the CID,” argued Niwagaba.
The forensic audit was commissioned by Parliament on 28 November 2024, following concerns raised by Leader of the Opposition Hon. Joel Ssenyonyi regarding the reported loss of funds from BoU.
In November 2024, media reports alleged that over Shs60 billion had been lost when hackers accessed the treasury system of the Central Bank.
Later, State Minister for Finance Hon. Henry Musasizi acknowledged the hacking incident in Parliament but stated that the stolen amount was less than reported.
During a December 17, 2024 appearance before the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises (COSASE), BoU Deputy Governor Michael Atingi-Ego revealed that the fraudulent transactions stemmed from a faulty order issued by the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development.
The error led to two debt servicing payments being mistakenly sent to unauthorized beneficiaries in Japan.
Atingi-Ego also confirmed that BoU managed to recover US$8.2 million of the stolen funds.
