On Monday this week, the police spokesperson, Fred Enanga, confirmed that the police’s Special Investigations Division, in coordination with Stanbic Bank management, had opened a fraud probe involving $1.8 million (about Shs 7 billion), orchestrated by a racket that allegedly includes its staff.
According to Enanga, the fraud was initiated and executed through the impersonation of Abdulhakim Hussein, the director of Nile Energy Limited. Hussein is said to be a Kenyan national of Eritrean descent.
Enanga said that the money was wired to different accounts that included; Account Number 9030012835107 in the name of Dixon Kagurusi Ampumuza; Account Number 9030021572615 in the name of Petrom Limited.
However, David Kamukama, the lawyer for city journalist and entrepreneur Dixon Kagurusi Ampumuza, has come out to deny that his client is a director of Petrom Limited, one of the companies involved in the fraud syndicate.
Kamukama of Byamugisha Advocates said that Enanga erred when he read out his client’s name.
“My client is a law abiding and hardworking citizen. We are therefore shocked that the police is citing him as a director of Petrom Limited.
“Kagurusi has been pursuing a Master’s Degree in International Relations at Makerere University, where his research is; “Understanding Key Drivers in Illicit Financial Flows,” and therefore he can be an asset to this nation,” Kamukama said.
Company documents at URSB filed in 2019 show that Oscar Rapheal Lutaaya is the sole director of Petrom Limited.
“As a result, any rumors that Dixon Kagurusi Ampumuza is a director in Petrom Limited are dispelled,” he said.
Meanwhile, on February 13, Stanbic Bank Uganda acknowledged the arrest of the suspects.
“The suspects have since been produced before the Anti-Corruption court and charged with “causing financial loss and money laundering. Stanbic bank also clarifies that there was no “intrusion into the bank’s systems” as alleged by some media reports,” read part of the statement.