Uganda confirms central bank hacking, refutes $17m claim

‘It is true that our account was hacked, but not to the extent of what is being reported,’ Minister of State for Finance Henry Musasizi told lawmakers.

Uganda’s finance ministry confirmed media reports that hackers breached the central bank’s systems and stole money, but refuted claims that they spirited away as much as $17 million.

The auditor general and the criminal investigations department are probing the incident that happened a fortnight ago, according to a report by parliament.

“It is true that our account was hacked, but not to the extent of what is being reported,” Minister of State for Finance Henry Musasizi told lawmakers Thursday, adding that a report on the incident would be ready in a month. “To avoid misrepresentation of facts, when the audit and CID investigations are finalised, I beg that I come to this house and report.”

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Both the central bank and the police declined to comment until the investigation is complete.

The New Vision newspaper reported on Thursday that a group known as “Waste” based in southeast Asia took 62 billion shillings ($17 million). The Daily Monitor newspaper said the amount was 47.8 billion shillings and the money was deposited into accounts in Japan and the UK.

UK authorities froze about $7 million although the robbers had already withdrawn a portion of the cash, the Monitor reported Friday. The syndicate received $6 million in Japan, it said.

“It alarmed me because this is our central bank,” the opposition’s Joel Ssenyonyi told fellow members of parliament Thursday. “I thought the government should help us understand; it is important that we know what exactly is happening.”

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