Government Spokesperson Ofwono Opondo has dismissed a report that the ongoing investigation into a procurement scam involving the Central Bank involves the printing of extra currency by some Bank of Uganda (BoU) officials.
Earlier media reports quoted Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga saying that Police had arrested senior officials of the Central bank and recovered documents on a plot to illegally print and bring unauthorized currency notes into the country.
Although he did not divulge details on the scandal, Enanga stated that the persons under custody include workers within the Bank of Uganda and the Customs department at Entebbe International Airport.
The investigation follows an alert by the Bank of Uganda Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, about an irregularity, he did not specify, detected during the verification of a consignment that was received in April in the Bank inventory.
According to sources, the plane had 25 pallets containing Ugandan currency. However, only 20 belonged to BoU. Although they were intact upon delivery, the Central Bank detected that what was delivered was more than what was expected.
Amid the controversy, addressing journalists in Kamapala today, Opondo warned that any government department that gives misleading information to the public is liable to be called to order for creating unnecessary fear in the economy.
