The Internal Security Organisation has started investigating a cartel that is involved in printing and circulating fake notes for foreign currencies and circulates them in outside Uganda.
These, according to a source at ISO have a number of officials they work within all government departments including the Finance Ministry and Central bank who help them forge signatures of other officials to help them in their game.
“Operating under various company names, these deal with several other companies including D.Craven Consulting and Hazer International to print fake foreign countries’ currencies and it’s done in Turkey,” the source said.
These bring in the pallets of money mostly through the airport and work with some officials who part of the game to allow the currency notes to pass before either being circulated in Uganda or later sent to various other countries.
“They mostly print DRC, Burundi, Kenya and other neighouring countries,” the source added.
ISO Director General, Col.Kaka Bagyenda confirmed the information and named one of the key suspects that they are looking for as Hakim Lukenge.
“Their business is printing currencies illegally with a network in Turkey and it involves some high profile crooks in government. They print counterfeits but you can hardly detect it,” Kaka said.
He said the network is so much syndicated making it difficult to apprehend them because a number of them are government officials.
“Lukenge is the Escobar(Pablo) of Uganda and the activities this group is involved in can tarnish Uganda’s name outside. It is a battle we are going to fight so we don’t allow our country to turn into another Colombia,” Col.Kaka said.
