BOU probe: Cosase tasks BOU officials for accountability of Shs487bn

By Stephen Kalema

Bank of Uganda spent Shs478.8 billion in process of taking over and selling Crane Bank to Dfcu Bank.

However, while appearing before the Parliamentary Committee on Commission Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) on Monday, the Central bank officials failed to account how the spent the money.

This was revealed by Anita Among, Cosase Vice chairperson also Bukedea Woman Member of Parliament during a brief press meeting yesterday.

She said the officials were sent back to bring valid documents related to the closure and sale of Crane Bank to dfcu Bank.

“They tendered in documents that could not convince the committee members on how Shs478.8 billion was spent. Some of the documents were duplicated by BoU officials,” Among revealed, adding,”The loan book of Crane Bank was an irony as there are instances where two clients are attached to the same loans. At the time of takeover by BoU, CBL loans amounting to Shs768 billion constituted 65 percent of the total assets. Shs529 billion worth of net loans were transferred to Dfcu Bank except the insider loans,”

Meanwhile Crane Bank needed only Shs157 billion capitalisation to stay afloat.

Currently, the committee is probing top Central Bank officials over their role in the alleged irregular closure and sale of seven commercial banks between 1993 and 2017 as raised by the Auditor General (AG)John Muwanga’s 2017 forensic audit report.

In his report, the AG question the Governor Emmanuel Mutebile and his team on the expenditure of more than Shs478.8 billion which they said was for liquidity support and other interventions in Crane Bank after they took over the management on October 20 2016.

The AG enquired into the source of the money BoU injected in Crane Bank and wondered how Mutebile’s team arrived at Shs478.8 billion.

For compiling the inventory report, forensic review and investigations, IT support and hiring of external lawyers, BoU officials spent Shs12.2 billion.

This money is part of the Shs478.8 billion they say was injected in Crane Bank.