Uganda:Auditor pins ex-MTN employees over sh5b loss

AN auditor from Grant Thornton has named five former employees of MTN Telecommunication Company involved in mobile money fraud over sh5b.

Jasmine Sha who gave evidence yesterday before the Anti- Corruption Court named Patrick Sentongo finance administrator, Angella Ayo, Brian Okurut, Eria Baryamwijuka and Joan Nabugwawo as the key former employees MTN who directly got involved in mobile money fraud.

Sha said the accused posted fraudulent mobile money transaction leading to loss of money.On Monday Sha said the accused took advantage of the system to defraud MTN.

Sha was testifying before Justice Lawrence Gidudu that the former employees used 17 MTN fictitious subscribers to defraud the company of sh5b.

The witness explained that as the money would be deposited on fictitious subscribers account and would also be drawn within the shortest time possible.

“We analysed all the fraudulent transactions and related evidence in the form of access logs and audit trails available in the records.

We examined the physical records, to the extent available, to correlate the same with the audit trail of the fraudulent transactions .

Based on the examinations and correlations, there is unthinkable evidence of direct and indirect involvement,” Sha said.

Sha testified that all almost the fraudulent entries in various accounts and subscribers’ account are created and authorised by Sentongo, Ayo, Okurut and Baryamwijuka.

He said Nabugwawo who was a cashier mobile money public access connived with the other former MTN employees to allegedly steal.

Court also heard that Always Uganda Limited was also involved in the withdrawals of large sums of money.

“Money was transferred directly through journals or indirectly out of the fraudulent funds to their accounts and then withdrawn,”Sha said.

The witness was testifying  in  case  of  former finance manager MTN mobile money  Ssentongo,  cashier Nabugwawo,Head of public access mobile money Richard Mwami, revenue  analyst  Ayo, Okurut (revenue analyst), and  Baryamwijuka are  charged with different offences.

The accused are charged with embezzlement, electronic fraud, unauthorized disclosure of access code, neglect of duty, and conspiracy to defraud.

All the accused denied the charges.

Prosecution led by state attorneys  Marion Acio ,Tom Walugembe  and  Maxim Tee  Elizooba said in the first count that Ssentongo and Nabugwawo were charged with embezzlement of sh8b allegedly from MTN.

Mwami, Ssentongo Nabugwawo and Ayo in the second count were charged with embezzling sh67m.

In the third court Mwami, Ssentongo and Nabugwawo were charged with yet another count of embezzlement of sh3.7b.

On the fourth count the prosecution accuses Ssentongo, Okurut, and Baryamwijuka of embezzling sh5.8b from MTN mobile money.

On the seventh count prosecution alleges that Ssentongo, Nabugwawo, Okurut, Ayo and Baryamwijuka while being employed by MTN between May and December 2011 without authority disclosed their passwords Fundamo mobile money to anunthorised persons.

On the count of neglect of duty Mwami was charged alone.

It is alleged that between May and December 2011, being employed as Head of public access mobile money, he corruptly neglected his duty of ensuring that the verification performance and procedures are adhered to by his supervisees.

They denied charges and maintain their innocence

On the last count Mwami,Ssentongo, Nabugwawo, Okurut, Ayo and Baryamwijuka conspired to defraud MTN by making fraudulent transactions in MTN mobile money computer system. 

SOURCE:NEWVISION