Overview:
According to PostBank's head of marketing and communications, Priscilla Akora, the bank has handed over some of its officers to aid with the investigation.
MBALE, Uganda – A probe is underway after counterfeit currency worth approximately Shs500 million was discovered in the vault of PostBank’s Mbale branch.
The investigation, led by police in the Elgon Sub-region and PostBank, has resulted in the arrest of several bank and security officials.
According to PostBank’s head of marketing and communications, Priscilla Akora, the bank has handed over some of its officers to aid with the investigation.
“This is a normal procedure when such an incident occurs and should not cause any alarm,” Akora said, adding that all customers’ deposits are safe.
Bank staff, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed that the counterfeit money, in bundles of Shs50,000 notes, was discovered on November 11 when a staff member retrieved some of it from the vault and brought it to the counter, where its authenticity was questioned.
The staff expressed surprise that bank officials at the regional and head office visited the bank three weeks ago but never discovered the anomaly.
Elgon police spokesperson Rogers Taitika confirmed that the case is now before the courts of law.
“The bank officials, after discovering the counterfeit money, reported the case and the investigations are ongoing,” Taitika said.
Taitika confirmed that the branch’s former operations manager was arrested, charged, and remanded in connection with the incident.
Preliminary investigations suggest that a syndicate involving several bank personnel was behind the counterfeit money, according to a police detective.
“Each bundle had genuine notes covering the fake notes. There is a loss of money worth Shs500 million or more,” the detective said.
The former operations manager allegedly handed over office to his successor on October 28, informing him that there was money worth Sh500 million in the vault.
The new operations manager has also been relieved of his duties and is currently under investigation.
PostBank has assured customers that their deposits are safe and that the bank remains committed to complying with all regulations as laid out by the Bank of Uganda and the Deposit Protection Fund of Uganda.