Uganda arrests nine finance officials over central bank hack

Ugandan authorities have arrested nine finance ministry officials amid an ongoing investigation into a cyberattack on the central bank’s electronic systems, which led to the theft of 62 billion shillings ($16.87 million), police and the finance ministry confirmed.

The breach, first reported in November last year, was acknowledged by State Minister for Finance Henry Musasizi, who confirmed that hackers had infiltrated the Bank of Uganda’s accounts and stolen funds.

Among those detained is a top official from the Treasury department, according to police and the finance ministry. The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) took several officers from the accountant general’s office into custody to assist with the probe, the ministry stated in a post on its official X account late Tuesday.

While the ministry did not disclose names or the exact number of detainees, police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke told NTV Uganda that nine officials had been arrested, including a senior Treasury official.

The detained officials have not yet issued any public statements.

According to reports by the state-owned New Vision newspaper, a hacker group calling itself “Waste” was behind the cyberattack, which compromised the central bank’s IT infrastructure and facilitated the unauthorized transfer of funds.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Scroll to Top