Details have emerged following investigations by security to establish the motive in which five extra wood pallets of cargo were transported by a plane chartered by Bank of Uganda to transport new currency to Uganda in April.
The probe which was instigated by Lt. Col. Edith Nakalema, who leads State House Anti-Corruption unit at the invitation of the Central Bank Governor, Prof. Emmanuel Mutebile shows that Bank of Uganda officials allowed the cargo to be transported from Germany where the money had been printed which is illegal.
On Thursday, Nakalema with instructions of the President raided Bank of Uganda and arrested five directors who are linked to this scam.
By Friday morning, many top managers in the Central Bank had been lined up for interrogation.
Details
A source in State House that wished to remain unnamed so as to speak freely told this website that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is immensely irked by the news of how a cargo was cleared by BoU officials who travelled to Uganda along with new currency from Germany.
As a routine BoU orders new notes which replace damaged ones that are taken out of circulation.
On instructions, BoU officials with higher titles have to travel to Germany to inspect, supervise the quantity and protect the new currency until it arrives in Uganda at Entebbe Airport.
To avoid suspicion and mistrust, BoU charters a plane to transport this currency.
On the plane there is no any other cargo allowed.
However, security was dismayed to find out that five more wood pallets had been sneaked into the plane.
What rattled security more was the fact BoU officials had cleared the cargo but never disclosed details of ownership.
TrumpetNews has learnt with authority that one of the wood pallets among the five belonged to UN.
But details of which UN official picked the cargo and where it wa destine to.
To add more confusion, this cargo was cleared by customs at airport before it vanished.
“Security now is quizzing Bank of Uganda managers to ascertain the true owners of this cargo,” a source said.
This source that is conversant with security said, speculation is that the cargo contained extra currency printed from Germany.
Usually money is stuffed in 20 wood pellets which after arriving at Entebbe are driven on terrific speed to Bank of Uganda head office in Kampala under very tight security.
We have also established that after Mr. Mutebile invited Nakalema, the no nonsense SFC soldier briefed the Commander in Chief, Gen. Museveni who then instructed all security chiefs to meet over the matter.
“In the meeting there was Army Commander Gen. David Muhoozi, IGP Martin Okoth Ochola, CIID Director Grace Akullo, CMI head Abel Kandiho and Nakalema,” said a source.
The meeting resolved that Nakalema and Akullo take the lead.
By press time, many BoU officials had been subjected to thorough interrogations.
This fresh scandal has exposed Bank of Uganda following previous inquiry by Parliament and Auditor General to the illegal sale/ closure of seven commercial banks.
The findings both probes indicate that most officials at the Central Bank connived to “kill” these banks.
The most contested sale being Crane Bank which belonged to businessman Sudhir Ruparelia.
The finding was Bank of Uganda officials, Dr. Louis Kasekende and ilk had placed Crane Bank as bait to pillage colossal sums of cash as a means of recapitalizing Crane Bank.
