Interpol under probe over sh1.4b certificates of good conduct scam

CRIME

KAMPALA - In the real world, away from fiction Hollywood blockbusters, it is inconceivable to imagine Police officers and cyber fraudsters ever singing from the same hymn book.

However, this seems to have played out at the International Police (Interpol) Kampala bureau station. The Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) detectives launched a probe where the Interpol bureau chiefs were allegedly involved in a fraudulent transaction of sh1.4b.

The probe follows allegations that proceeds from certificates of good conduct issued by Interpol headquarters worth billions of shillings were channelled to a secret unofficial account. 

However, details of the account could not be disclosed for fear of jeopardising investigations. CID has revealed that the money was stolen by an organised syndicate operating at the Interpol headquarters.

On a daily basis, Interpol Kampala processes between 50 and 70 certificates, a source revealed. However, the system is sometimes interrupted by network failure.

Interpol officers allegedly created a second account on which they would ask clients to channel the money. The money stolen was from the period between January and March this year.

This will prompt investigators to probe backwards, according to sources.

The policemen were also implicated in selling forged fingerprints to suspected criminals in a bid to conceal their records, especially when they are travelling abroad.

"Some of the evidential material linking the suspects to the crime has since been seized by the Police," the source said.

Detectives said some unscrupulous officers fraudulently obtain the biometrics of unsuspecting persons more than once and make more copies.

"They later duplicate more than one certificate of good conduct, including the fingerprints in the names of the persons whose biometrics have been taken more than once," a source said.

CID spokesperson Charles Mansio Twiine said detectives were verifying the authenticity of documents and whether payments were made to a genuine government account. So far, no suspects have been arrested.

Annual crime report

While launching the 2019 annual crime report, the Police chief, Martins Okoth Ochola, said: "There was relative increase in homicide, cybercrime and corruption related cases."

A total of 248 cases were reported in 2019 compared to 198 reported in 2018, leading to a loss of sh11.5b and only sh52m was recovered by the Police.

Rogue police officers

President Yoweri Museveni has time and again condemned rogue elements within the Police and he asked the administration to clean their house.

The crack-down at the Kampala Interpol offices comes barely five months after CID cracked the whip on officers behind the theft of sensitive case files, including defilement, murder, kidnap, robberies, land, rape as well as gold deals. 

Over 40 detectives were arrested.