Accountant denied bail in sh417m fraud, money laundering case

KAMPALA - An accountant at Amstus Polymer Packaging Limited accused of laundering sh417 million, has been denied bail by the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court.

Simon Peter Mutabule, 38, a resident of Gwafu village, who is facing charges of money laundering, forgery and uttering false documents, applied for bail before the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court presided over by Justice Kajuga.

However, the court declined to release him on bail, ruling that the sureties he presented were not substantial enough for the court to rely on in granting bail.

Amstus Polymer Packaging Limited is a manufacturing and international trading company based in Kampala. It specialises in plastic and polymer industrial packaging solutions.

“This bail application fails for want of sufficient sureties. The applicant has not demonstrated that the proposed sureties, beyond Wycliff Mutabule, possess the financial capacity to meet the bond terms that this court may impose, or the personal authority to compel his attendance at trial. This application is accordingly dismissed. The applicant is, however, at liberty to present fresh sureties to this without the to file a new application, “Justice Kajuga said.

The court observed that Immaculate Namubiru, a long-term partner of Mutabule and one of the proposed sureties, failed to demonstrate the financial capacity required to satisfy any bail terms that may be imposed by court.

Paul Hamala, a freelance surveyor and friend of Mutabule, was also rejected as a surety on grounds that he failed to present evidence of income, assets, property ownership or any other indicators of financial standing.

Prosecution’s case

The prosecution, led by Senior State Attorney Gertrude Apio from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), alleges that Mutabule between January and February 2018 at Stanbic Bank, Aponye branch in Kampala, using falsified documents, procured the registration of Doshi Hardware Uganda Limited as a sub-merchant of Pegasus Technologies Limited.

He is alleged to have intentionally acquired sh417 million through account number 9030014222234 in the name of Doshi Hardware Uganda Limited, of which he was a signatory, while knowing that at the time of receipt the funds were proceeds of crime.

It is further alleged that between November and December 2017 in Kampala, with intent to defraud, he made a false document, a certificate of incorporation in the name of Doshi Hardware Uganda Limited dated November 6, 2017, purporting it was issued by the Uganda Registration Services Bureau when it was not.

He is also alleged to have forged a Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) trade licence certificate in the name of Doshi Hardware Uganda Limited for 2017, purporting it had been issued by KCCA when it was not.

Prosecution further states that in December 2017 at Stanbic Bank in Kampala, while opening an account in the name of Doshi Hardware Uganda Limited, he presented a fake KCCA trade licence certificate purporting it had been issued by KCCA when it was not.