Overview:
The situation at PostBank comes on the backdrop of an ongoing investigation at the Bank of Uganda where more than Shs60b was wiped off their accounts in what is viewed by investigators as an inside job.
An unidentified number of staff at PostBank has been arrested as part of investigations into how counterfeit money worth Shs500 million ended up at the bank’s branch in Mbale City, Eastern Uganda.
Investigations, according to PostBank, point to collusion by staff at the branch.
“Further to our earlier communication where PostBank Uganda (PBU) confirmed that the bank’s internal control mechanism had discovered counterfeit notes worth Five Hundred Million Uganda Shillings in Mbale branch, and that the matter had been escalated to the Police, below is the latest update on the matter,” the bank said in a statement issued on Thursday.
“Initial investigations point to a collusion of the bank’s custodians of cash at Mbale branch,” the statement added.
Uganda Police has arrested the implicated staff, and where there were lapses in oversight of the branch operations, the bank has suspended the responsible staff pending the conclusion of the investigation, PostBank added.
“All the steps that we are taking are in line with the bank’s policies and procedures, and the culprits will be brought to book according to the laws of Uganda,” the statement added.
The bank said this is an isolated incident, and that all transactions are safe as it has in place all the required resources and technology to detect counterfeit, “just like it was in this case where we detected this internally before any customer could be impacted.”
“Integrity is critical to us, and because you are the reason we exist, we believe it is important to update you on the progress of the ongoing investigation in the most transparent way. We re-assure you of our promise to foster your prosperity at every step of your financial journey,” it adds.
The situation at PostBank comes on the backdrop of an ongoing investigation at the Bank of Uganda where more than Shs60b was wiped off their accounts in what is viewed by investigators as an inside job.
Cases of crime syndicates have hit many companies, with banks and telecom companies the most affected.