Equity bank has accepted to present one of its top officials to be quizzed by police in the ongoing investigations into the shs38.9 billion gold scam.
In a July, 5 response the head of the bank’s legal department has informed police of their willingness to appear for questioning to guide in the ongoing investigations.
“We are keen to cooperate fully with the investigations . We would also like to state that Equity Bank Uganda Limited fully complied with all legal and regulatory requirements in the impugned transaction. Our representative , Charles Ado Okello, the manager in charge financial crime investigations will be available to provide all necessary details regarding the allegations,” the bank wrote.
They said their staff will be available for grilling on July, 10, at 10am.
Background
Clifford M. Potter, a Canadian businessman and investor sought to buy gold and entered into agreement with one Stephen Bairukanga who claimed to be working with SMC Global Logistics.
The Canadian would later pay money that he deposited to the bank accounts of the Ugandan dealer in Stanbic and Equity but he realized it was a scam.
Potter later ran to the banks to block the withdrawal of the money from the two accounts held by Bairukanga but it was too late, as the Ugandan had already withdrawn all of it.
The businessman later wrote to the two banks but also copied the same to BoU accusing the financial institutions of collusion with the fraudster.
“It has been established that the above named fraudster was able to access the money remitted by our client into his said bank accounts in the bogus gold transaction, only through the dishonest assistance of the bank which facilitated him to instantly draw cash,” the lawyers of Muwema & Co Advocates say.
According to the lawyers, it beats their understanding that the fraudster was able to carry out several transactions without the banks noticing.
“Had it not been for the bank’s ominous and willful breach of the standard prudential banking norms, our client may still have remitted, but most importantly, not lost money to the fraudster. The money transfer transactions would have been reversed upon a due diligence by the bank which would have discovered the fraud early enough.”
The lawyers said the bank knew or had the means of knowing that allowing the said fraudster to receive and instantly withdraw cash without raising any reasonable inquiry or report of a suspicious transaction, made it complicit in the fraud and crime committed.
“As a licensed bank, you abdicated your Quincecare duty of care when you failed to question and flag the obvious financial laundering raised in this case when you openly facilitated it instead and thereby flouted the law. There is no doubt that any prudent banker’s suspicion would have been aroused to cause an investigation of the propriety of the fraudulent transactions which the fraudster weaved and perfected through his regulated bank account.”
“ There is also no doubt that the spot cash withdrawals which the bank granted to the fraudster presented the illegal seal and final act of the gold scam. The bank is very much a part of the acteus reus which firmly places it at the scene of crime.”
