The Auditor General’s forensic audit report 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 inquiry.
Speaker Anita Among forwarded the report to the CID after it was tabled in Parliament on Thursday, January 9, 2025, by Government Chief Whip Denis Hamison Obua.
Speaker Among revealed that the decision followed consultations with President Yoweri Museveni. She emphasised the criminal nature of the findings in the report, which warranted an in-depth investigation by the CID.
“Given the criminal elements outlined in the report, we have decided to direct it to the CID for further action,” she stated.
Requests by Ndorwa County East MP, Wilfred Niwagaba, and Tororo North County MP, Hon. Geofrey Ekanya, to have the report scrutinised by parliamentary committees before CID involvement were declined by the Speaker.
“I thought that, as part of the Auditor General’s report, it should first be reviewed by the relevant parliamentary committee, then debated before being sent to the CID,” Niwagaba argued.
The Auditor General’s inquiry was initiated following Parliament’s request for a forensic audit on 28 November 2024. This came after Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi raised concerns about the significant loss at the Central Bank.
Media reports in November 2024 claimed hackers had infiltrated BoU’s treasury system, resulting in the loss of over Shs60 billion.
State Minister for Finance Henry Musasizi later confirmed the hacking incident but suggested that the amount stolen was less than initially reported.
BoU Deputy Governor Michael Atingi-Ego, addressing the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) on December 17, 2024, attributed the fraudulent transactions to an erroneous directive from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
This directive led to two debt-servicing payments being mistakenly sent to the wrong beneficiaries in Japan.
Atingi-Ego assured COSASE that BoU had managed to recover US$8.2 million of the stolen funds, but significant questions remain about the unaccounted losses.
The CID investigation is expected to provide clarity on the circumstances surrounding the missing billions and determine accountability.