The fake loan fraud racket being led away on a police truck.
On Jan.10, a local daily newspaper reported an incident in which a top bank in Uganda was conned Shs2.7bn in bogus loan scheme leading to some suspects getting arrested by the police.
Gurijindeer Singh, who hails from Kolkata, the capital of India’s West Bengal state is the prime suspect.
“…operating from his rented Escort Pharmacy head-quartered on Martin Road in Old Kampala, Rubaga Division, Gurijindeer Singh and his accomplice Jaspreet Singh, allegedly fleeced the bank of Sh2.7bn in two months’ courtesy of bogus loans,” the daily newspaper article reads in part.
It did not mention the other suspects. The Independent has since established from reliable banking industry sources the names of other suspects. They are; Anubhav Garg, Sohail Sued, Sikander Singh, Guravtar Singh, Zameer Abbas, Ashley Nalukwago and Racheal Kuteesa. The suspects are out on police bond.
“It has emerged that Gurijindeer Singh, orchestrated a scheme and persuaded a top city bank (name withheld) to extend a loan to him and his employees in billions of shillings between April and September last year,” the newspaper article adds.
It is alleged that Gurijindeer created ghost workers and went through the process of loan application and acquisition with the aid of some insiders in the bank.
Preliminary investigations indicate that Gurijindeer Singh and his wife, fled the country allegedly on a tip-off from a banker according to the daily newspaper article.
Security forces are pursuing Gurijindeer Singh and have promised to investigate the matter to its logical conclusion.
Expert warns
In an interview, Paul Lakuma, an economist and research fellow at the Makerere University based Economic Policy Research Centre told The Independent, there is a need to send a message to such criminals that courts of law are available to judge them in the event they are brought to book.
Lakuma also urged individual commercial banks to tighten their risk management systems right from the loan application, verification and approval so as to avoid recording such loss-making incidents.
Credit: The Independent
