{"id":71013,"date":"2024-04-13T08:03:22","date_gmt":"2024-04-13T08:03:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/police-arrest-ex-equity-bank-boss-over-fraud"},"modified":"2024-04-13T08:43:48","modified_gmt":"2024-04-13T08:43:48","slug":"police-arrest-ex-equity-bank-boss-over-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/police-arrest-ex-equity-bank-boss-over-fraud","title":{"rendered":"Police arrest ex-Equity Bank boss over fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. <\/strong><\/span>Police have arrested the former Equity Bank Executive Director for Commercial Banking, Mr Kenneth Onyango, to assist with ongoing investigations into alleged stock loan and agent float financing fraud.<\/b><\/p>\n

Highly-placed sources told this publication last night that Mr Onyango was taken into custody on the advice of Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) that will provide further guidance on his case.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is being investigated in line with that case [fraud]…it\u2019s true he is in police custody. DPP to guide on next course of action,\u201d the source said, preferring not to be named due to sensitivity of the matter.<\/p>\n

Images of a hand-cuffed Mr Onyango, who reportedly resigned last month, were shared on various social media platforms last evening.<\/p>\n

Management reportedly approved his resignation with \u201cimmediate effect\u201d, subject to the outcomes of investigations which by then were underway.<\/p>\n

This newspaper understands that he was arrested by Kampala Metropolitan Police whose Spokesperson, Mr Patrick Onyango, declined to speak on the matter.<\/p>\n

Police are expected to issue a formal statement on the arrest today.<\/p>\n

Equity Bank last night said it would not comment on the arrest since the investigations were being conducted by state law enforcement and any disclosures could jeopardise the inquiries.<\/p>\n

The bank, however, referred us to its March 7, 2024 statement on \u201cpossible fraud on our stock loan and agent financing products\u201d when news of the scandal first broke.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople of interest, including a few of our staff and customers, are currently assisting with investigations by the relevant law enforcement authorities,\u201d the unsigned statement read in part.<\/p>\n

It added: \u201cWe hold ourselves to the highest standards of accountability and transparency, and a person found to be responsible, whether through fraud or errors of commission or omission, will be fully addressed in accordance with the policies, procedures and ethical values of the organisation and, where appropriate, the laws of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

A fortnight after the bank\u2019s statement, five former Equity Bank employees were on March 20 charged at the Anti-Corruption Magistrate\u2019s Court with obtaining credit by false pretense, money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud.<\/p>\n

They included Julius Musiimenta, the head agency banking; Erina Nabisubi, the relationship manager telecoms; Fred Semwogerere, a banker; Crescent Tumuhimbise, a relationship officer; and Wyclif Asiimwe, a distribution and marketing consultant.<\/p>\n

They did not take plea and were remanded to prison after the presiding magistrate said the allegations included capital offence triable by the High Court.<\/p>\n

Police last week revealed that they had taken into custody two more suspects in relation to the case. A source familiar with the investigations said last night that Mr Onyango was arrested alongside three agent banking operators. This followed findings by investigators that the fraud was occasioned mainly through alleged complicity between some Equity Bank staff and specific operators of agent banking categorised as \u201csuper agents\u201d because of their high net business value.<\/p>\n

Following the revelations, this newspaper understands that Bank of Uganda has ordered forensic audit into the bank amid assurances that depositors\u2019 money is safe and there is no need to panic.<\/p>\n

Amount<\/b><\/p>\n

The amount reported lost through the alleged money laundering and fraud scheme is $16m (Shs62b), most of it disbursed as unsecured loans to unqualified persons.<\/p>\n

Mr Onyango worked with the bank in various capacities: over time heading its risk, operations and business portfolios before he was elevated to superintend commercial banking.<\/p>\n

Equity Bank statement <\/b><\/p>\n

Dear Customers,<\/p>\n

In our effort to empower our customers, businesses, and communities, we have continued to innovate products and services that bring convenience and support our customers to unlock their full potential.<\/p>\n

Through our relationship with our customers and stakeholders, the Bank has continued to expand its footprint and currently has a network of 50 branches, over 9,000 Equi Duuka agents and 58 ATMs spread across the country and serving over 2 million customers.<\/p>\n

We regret to inform you that we have recently identified a possible fraud on our Stock Loan and Agent financing products.<\/p>\n

People of interest, including a few of our staff and customers, are currently assisting with investigations by the relevant law enforcement authorities.<\/p>\n

We hold ourselves to the highest standards of accountability and transparency, and a person found to be responsible, whether through fraud or errors of commission or omission, will be fully addressed in accordance with the policies, procedures and ethical values of the organisation and, where appropriate, the laws of the country.<\/p>\n

Customers continue to access loans across all our branches countrywide and banking channels.<\/p>\n

The Board of Directors and management are committed to resolving and concluding this matter, and we continue to focus on our purpose of transforming lives, giving dignity and expanding opportunities for wealth creation.<\/p>\n

Unsigned March 7, 2024 statement Equity Bank shared on its social media pages.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Uganda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. Police have arrested the former Equity Bank Executive Director for Commercial Banking, Mr Kenneth Onyango, to assist with ongoing investigations into alleged stock loan and agent float financing fraud. Highly-placed sources told this publication last night that Mr Onyango was taken into custody on the advice of Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":71012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-71013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nPolice arrest ex-Equity Bank boss over fraud - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Police have arrested the former Equity Bank Executive Director for Commercial Banking, Mr Kenneth Onyango, to assist ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/police-arrest-ex-equity-bank-boss-over-fraud\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Police arrest ex-Equity Bank boss over fraud\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Police have arrested the former Equity Bank Executive Director for Commercial Banking, Mr Kenneth Onyango, to assist ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/police-arrest-ex-equity-bank-boss-over-fraud\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-13T08:03:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-13T08:43:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2024\/04\/sm_1712985042.746687.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/police-arrest-ex-equity-bank-boss-over-fraud#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/police-arrest-ex-equity-bank-boss-over-fraud\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Police arrest ex-Equity Bank boss over fraud\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-13T08:03:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-13T08:43:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/police-arrest-ex-equity-bank-boss-over-fraud\"},\"wordCount\":800,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/police-arrest-ex-equity-bank-boss-over-fraud#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2024\/04\/sm_1712985042.746687.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/police-arrest-ex-equity-bank-boss-over-fraud#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/police-arrest-ex-equity-bank-boss-over-fraud\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/police-arrest-ex-equity-bank-boss-over-fraud\",\"name\":\"Police arrest ex-Equity Bank boss over fraud - 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