The money was withdrawn in three instalments using fake withdrawal slips by fraudsters who impersonated the real account holders and presented fake passports.
On 28 and 29 March 2015, Serwamba colluded with various other conspirators to embezzle USD 1,450,000 from the accounts of two Southern Sudanese nationals. The prime suspect, Serwamba David Musoke, was the operations manager of Equity Bank Oasis Mall Branch in Kampala. The complainant (Equity Bank Uganda Ltd) is a commercial bank in Uganda with subsidiaries throughout the East African region. It was not until May 2015 that we decided to test the provisions of the Act in the case of Uganda Versus Serwamba David Musoke and 6 Others. However, for the first year no prosecutor dared to try it. There was very little knowledge about money laundering among police detectives, prosecutors and even judicial officers.Īt the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, we quickly realised that the new AML Act could give us impetus in fighting organised crimes like corruption, terrorism, drug trafficking and human trafficking. Uganda’s Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) was only established in July 2014. Prior to this, the offence of money laundering was not criminalised under Ugandan law. In 2013, Uganda passed the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AML Act). In most countries, the conversion or transfer of proceeds of crime to disguise or conceal its illicit origin is criminalised as the offence of money laundering. Money laundering is the process of making large amounts of money generated through criminal activity appear to come from a legitimate source.
The short history of money laundering prosecutions in Uganda His article raises considerations about what other anti-corruption practitioners and policymakers, especially in Africa, can take forward from it.
This landmark case blazes a trail not just for Uganda but for other countries to prosecute cases of money laundering and recover illicit assets.Īs part of ICAR's efforts to encourage innovation and peer learning in the anti-corruption and asset recovery communities, we would like to share Tom's reflections on the case. In this role, he secured the first ever money laundering conviction in Uganda in the case of Uganda v Serwamba David Musoke and 6 Others. Before joining the Basel Institute’s International Centre for Asset Recovery, Tom Walugembe was a Senior State Attorney at Uganda’s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
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