Anne Kansiime's ex-manager convicted of fraud in UK

CRIME       FRAUD

KAMPALA - A Ugandan couple living in Northfleet Essex, UK, has been convicted after they were found guilty of money laundering.

Johnson Mujungu,53, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years while his wife, Grace Ntolera-Mujungu, 42, was sentenced to 18 months.

However, the sentences given out to the couple at Maidstone Crown Court on February 28, were suspended for two years.

Mujungu, through Grajoh Talent Management and Public Relations, managed stars such as Anne Kansiime, Patrick Salvador Idringi, and Irene Namubiru. It also organised numerous shows abroad.

According to a statement from Kent Police, the Mujungus, who are both residents of Struttons Avenue in Essex, illegally received a payment of £120,000 (about sh570m) and transferred it into a number of different accounts linked to them both.

The statement posted on the Kent Police Facebook handle states that in August 2017, a male victim (name withheld) received a call that he needed to pay inheritance tax to a firm of solicitors linked to his late grandmother's estate.

"An e-mail from the solicitors giving instructions on how to transfer the amount due was then sent. However, the e-mail was intercepted by the defendants (the Mujungus) and a different account was provided resulting in the victim paying them the money instead," the statement reads in part.

According to Kent Police, when the victim realised the money had not been paid to the solicitors, he contacted the police and an investigation was launched.

"Our officers discovered the money had been paid into a business account owned Ntolera-Mujungu and on receipt of the payment, it was immediately dispersed into several other bank accounts owned by her husband, Johnson Mujungu," the statement said.

Ntolera-Mujungu denied the charges of transferring and converting criminal property, while her husband a charge of converting criminal property, but a jury at Maidstone Crown Court found them guilty.

According to UK police, the case investigating officer, Detective Constable Mark Newman of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate; "this fraud was particularly cruel because the victim had recently lost a family member and he then had to pay the inheritance tax twice."

Police investigations found that the Mujungus used the money to pay off debts and pretended that it was a payment for a business transaction.

"I am pleased we have been able to track where the money went and bring those involved to justice. We will now be carrying out further enquiries under the Proceeds of Crime Act to establish whether any money can be returned. I hope that this outcome gives some consolation to the victim," said Newman.

The story, which was also carried by UK's The Guardian newspaper's online platform, was described as the worst case of email intercept fraud that Money has ever featured.