Ugandan authorities have arrested nine officials from the Ministry of Finance in connection with a cyberattack on the Bank of Uganda, which resulted in the theft of 62 billion shillings ($16.87 million). The arrests were confirmed by both the police and the finance ministry.
Among those detained is the most senior official in the ministry’s Treasury department, according to police and ministry statements. Officials from the accountant general’s office were also taken into custody by the Criminal Investigations Department to assist in the probe, the finance ministry revealed in a statement on its X account on Tuesday. However, the ministry did not disclose the identities or the exact number of those detained.
Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke, speaking to NTV television, confirmed that nine officials had been arrested and publicly read out their names, including the top Treasury official. The suspects were not immediately available for comment.
Reports of the cyberattack first emerged in November last year, when State Minister for Finance Henry Musasizi acknowledged that the central bank’s accounts had been hacked, leading to the unauthorized transfer of funds.
According to state-owned New Vision newspaper, the hackers, who identified themselves as “Waste”, breached the Bank of Uganda’s IT systems and illegally siphoned off the money. The investigation is ongoing.