State House Anti-Corruption Unit intercepts fraud racket targeting foreign investor
Photo by Ruth Anderah
By Ruth Anderah
The State House Anti-corruption Unit has arrested 4 men who had orchestrated a plot to defraud a foreign investor of 4.9 million US Dollars.
The suspects are Dr. Charles Mulyansaka, a resident of Kitala –Entebbe, Moses Mwesigwa, Moses Seruma and Peter Watum are said to have presented themselves as officials from the President’s Office and particularly members of the special contracts committee.
Using forged documents, the suspects contacted Farkan Gumran, a Dubai-based Turkish businessman and persuaded him to take on a 4.9 million USD contract to supply chemicals used in purification of motor fuels through the Ministry of Energy.
Convinced, Farkan came to Uganda but later became suspicious after the alleged fraudsters kept switching meeting places from parliamentary building to AHA towers in Nakasero.
He later, through a colleague contacted the State House Anti-Corruption Unit which laid a bait for the fraudsters leading to their arrest yesterday.
While parading the suspects to the media, Israel Ocho, the head legal affairs said that over the past two years, the unit has received numerous complaints from foreign nationals who were duped into believing they had secured lucrative government contracts in Uganda- which, in reality, do not exist.
Ocho stated that Dr. Mulyansaka Charles, posed as chairman of the fake contracts committee, Mwesigwa Moses, claimed to be the Director of Procurement of the committee, Moses Serumwa, posed as the IT and Communications officer, while Peter Watum, acted as the secretary to the committee.
They all face charges of impersonation and forgery before court
Ocho further revealed that the unit is actively pursuing another suspect known as Sekidde, who has been impersonating a Major General Sam Kiwanuka.
Dressed in military fatigue, Sekidde is accused of swindling 19.7 million US dollars from a Kenyan company for allegedly securing a government tender to supply hoes and mosquito nets to Ugandans.
