KAMPALA: Investigations into former Bank of Uganda (BOU) former Director of Supervision, Ms Justine Bagyenda could have been completed had it not been for the protection she enjoys from Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) Board where she is a member, an employee has intimated to the Daily Post.
“You know that Bagyenda still sits on the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) Board and is being shielded by the Chairman Leo Kibirango,” a source at FIA told Daily Post in a brief telephone interview.
The public is concerned that since Bagyenda was accused of money laundering over two months ago, FIA has not released even an interim report on the matter.
On Wednesday a Whatsapp network, dubbed, ‘Youth Power Research Uganda (YPRU)’, petitioned Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda to order the top executives of the FIA to investigate Bagyenda over what they say accumulating illicit wealth as well investigating her and other BOU officials for their role in the collapse and sale of Crane Bank, National Bank of Commerce and Greenland Bank, among other banks.
“We would like to report to you that some government agencies like the Financial Intelligency Authority has not yet lived to the expectations of Ugandans as regards investigating some Bank of Uganda officials who are believed to have accumulated illicit wealth which led to collapse of our banks like Crane Bank which used to employ many youths,” the group’s Head of Publicity, Mathius Ssempala, wrote in a May 30, 2018 letter.
The group claims that Mr Asubo has failed to investigate Ms Bagyenda over Shs19bn that was said to be on three different bank banks, even as the matter was reported by the whistleblower over two months ago. Some of the banks that have Bagyenda’s money, according to the recent leaked documents include GT Bank, Barclays and Diamond Trust Bank.
“Even after two months after petitioning, there is no any single draft report made hence casting fear amongst anti-corruption crusaders to think that Mr Asubo, the Executive Director of FIA is no longer competent for the job,” the letter reads in part.
FIA BOSS SYDNEY ASAUBO
Meanwhile Sydney Asubo, the executive director of FIA, has insisted that investigations into money laundering take some time and cannot be rushed as some people want.
In March, leaked document showed Ms Bagyenda as having stashed about Shs19 billion in Barclays Bank and Diamond Trust bank which later apologized to Bagyenda, confirming she indeed had that money on their accounts.
Asubo says he is waiting for a letter from President Museveni or the Prime Minister to decide his next course of action against Bagyenda who of recent through the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has opened war on media houses that published the details of her leaked bank transactions.
The youth group says Asubo is not up to the task and feel he should resign for failure to investigate Bagyenda.
