The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Janes Frances Abodo has confirmed prosecution of former Bank of Uganda Deputy Governor Louis Kasekende, former Director of Commercial Banks Supervision Justine Bagyenda and the central bank’s Director for Financial Markets Development Coordination (FMDC) Benedict Sekabira.
In an August 4th letter addressed to petitioner-Kakuru Sam, the DPP confirmed that the trio are under investigation.
“This is to acknowledge receipt of your complaint in regards to the above [investigation of Kasekende, Bagyenda and Sekabira]. This letter is addressed to two institutions which are both mandated to direct on investigations. The complaint should be addressed to one institution for proper investigations and follow-up and also to avoid duplicity and wastage of resources,” Ms Abodo said.
The trio are accused of fleecing assets of defunct commercial banks.
Today Monday, Sekabira is expected to appear at the Criminal Investigations Directorate- CID headquarters kibuli. He was first summoned by CID last month for concealing title deeds of defunct banks, which were illegally sold off by the Central Bank.
Sekabira who didn’t honor the police summons, was supposed to show up at the CID Headquarters on 30th July, 2020 so that he can be produced in court for charges of concealing title deeds under section 278 of the penal code.
“This directorate has been investigating the above matter that arose from the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) with directives to the Inspector General of Police to immediately upon adoption of special audit report on defunct banks seizes all the land titles in possession of JN Kirkland and Associates and MS SIL Investment arising from the loan portfolio sold to MS Nile River Acquisition Company by Bank of Uganda,” CID’s Paul Katto Tumuhimbise told BoU Governor Prof Emmanuel Mutebile in a 27th July letter.
Meanwhile, Kasekende and Bagyenda will record police statements from there home not at police.
Background
A special audit report by the Auditor General (AG) revealed weaknesses in the management of the Central Bank and placed blame on the door of the Governor Emmanuel Mutebile and his team for errors in the closure of at least seven commercial banks.
Among banks was Teefe Bank (1993), International Credit Bank Ltd (1998), Greenland Bank (1999), The Co-operative Bank (1999), National Bank of Commerce (2012), Global Trust Bank (2014) and Crane Bank Ltd (CBL) (2016).
The audit was sparked off by the interest generated by the closure and sale of Crane Bank owned by businessman Sudhir Ruparelia.
AG John Muwanga would discover BoU did not have guidelines/regulations or policies in place to guide the identification of the purchases of the defunct banks. Neither did the bank have guidelines to determine the procedures to be adopted in the sale/ transfer of assets and liabilities of the defunct banks to the identified purchaser.
The AG found out that in the Purchase of Assets and Assumption of Liabilities (P&A) deal BoU officials signed with Dfcu on January 25, 2017 for the purchase of Crane Bank Limited, the most recent bank to be disposed off, there was not even negotiation minutes leading to the P&A agreement. On top of that BoU did not carry out a valuation of the assets and liabilities of CBL before their sale.
The Crane Bank sale opened a pandora box and a closet of skeletons hiding behind the Grand Bank of Uganda, have come out dancing on streets. The Bank of Uganda image has in the process suffered by its officials have failed to acknowledge and right the wrongs in the Central Bank systems.
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