Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) is under intense pressure for failure to probe into the matters of Former director supervision Bank of Uganda Justine Bagyenda in which she is accused of money laundering.
Early this year, many people including members of parliament tasked the IGG and FIA to look into the matters in which the sacked Director Bank of Uganda had accumulated her wealth. Proceedings are going on very well with the IGG but the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) has not done its part.
In March this year, leaked bank documents indicated that Ms Bagyenda’s bank accounts in the last six years had a balance of huge billions which FIA was supposed to investigate.
Budadiri west legislator Nathan Nandala Mafabi (Budadiri West), while addressing the media at parliament requested that Bagyenda be charged with money laundering. This duty fell in the dockets of FIA since it is the government agency mandated to monitor and investigate money laundering activities within the country.
FIA’s head, Sydney Asubo, in March said that they had got sufficient information from whistleblowers which they were going to use to probe into Bagyenda’s case. Since then nothing has been done by FIA.
According to sources, FIA board Chairperson Leo Kibirango is reportedly against the authority investigating Bagyenga and is said to have warned officials at FIA.
Leaked mobile money transactions from MTN showed that Bagyenda made mobile money transactions to the tune of Shs499,428,906 million in just a period of three years, to a phone number linked to her biological son- a one Robert Muhumuza.
But more importantly, these transactions, were not reported to the authorities by either the banks, or the mobile phone companies as required by Section 6 (2) b of The Anti-Money Laundering Act (2013).
The act mandates all financial institutions, law firms real estate agents, casinos, brokerage firms, investment bankers, registrar of companies, registrars of land, Uganda Investment Authority, NGOs and all Licensing Authorities to report to the Uganda Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA), all transactions equal to, or above the amount of 1,000 currency points (Shs20,000,000). This was later upgraded to 5,000 currency points (Shs100,000,000) as per the amended anti-money laundering act, that commenced on 26th May 2017.
Bagyenda, whose contract at BoU was supposed to end June 2018, was in a reshuffle announced by BoU governor Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile, retired. In her place Mutebile appointed Dr Tumubweine Twinemanzi.
Financial Intelligence Authority is a government agency established by the Parliament of Uganda to monitor, investigate, and prevent money laundering in the country. It is also responsible for the enforcement of Uganda’s anti-money laundering laws and the monitoring of all financial transactions inside the country’s borders.
