City Lawyer Kyagaba Under Investigation Over Shs17bn Gold Scam
According to police records under SD REF: 32/25/02/2025 and SD REF: 31/24/02/2025, the complaint was filed by Fahad Kigongo Semugenze on behalf of PT HRTC Exploration and Production, a company based in Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Uganda Police Mineral Protection Unit is investigating city lawyer Isaac Kyagaba over a suspected $4.9 (about Shs17 billion) million gold scam in which foreign investors claim they were defrauded.
Mr Kyagaba, a partner at the multinational law firm Dentons, is jointly accused with two individuals identified as Samuel and Hakim in connection to the alleged fraudulent transactions.
According to police records under SD REF: 32/25/02/2025 and SD REF: 31/24/02/2025, the complaint was filed by Fahad Kigongo Semugenze on behalf of PT HRTC Exploration and Production, a company based in Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates.
The complaint alleges that in May 2024, PT HRTC entered into a deal with OYZTAR Minerals Company Litd to purchase 200 kilograms of gold.
The company reportedly paid $3 million (Shs11 billion) on May 13, 2024, to an account at Stanbic Bank (Uganda) Limited, followed by an additional $1.4 million (Shs5 billion) on May 29, 2024, for export clearance.
However, despite the total payment of $4.4 million (Shs16b billion), the company never received the gold as agreed.
In a separate transaction, PT HRTC also reportedly sought to purchase 510 kilograms of gold from a Burundian supplier identified as Samuel and Hakim.
To oversee the deal, the company engaged Kyagaba, a lawyer at the multinational law firm Dentons, for due diligence and transaction execution.
According to the complaint, the investors transferred $500,000 through Kyagaba’s account.
However, the deal collapsed under suspicious circumstances after the investors were presented with a Uganda Revenue Authority customs declaration copy (Ref: T 70287 07 23), which they now claim to be fraudulent.
The complainant, Fahad Kigongo Semugenze, alleges that despite attempts to recover their money, the investors have neither received the gold nor a refund.
Instead, they claim to have been met with threats. They are now calling on Ugandan authorities to apprehend and prosecute the three suspects, as well as the directors of OYZTAR Minerals Company Litd.
Efforts to reach the accused individuals for comment were unsuccessful by press time. The matter remains under investigation by the Uganda Police Mineral Protection Unit, with the case already before a criminal court for possible recovery of the lost funds.
