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Police in the Elgon Sub-region and PostBank are investigating the discovery of counterfeit currency worth Shs500 million in the vault of the bank’s Mbale branch, according to Daily Monitor.
A vault is a secure room used to store and protect cash, valuables, and important documents. The shocking find has resulted in the arrest of some bank staff and security officials to aid with investigations.
“As per bank procedure, we handed over some of our officers to aid with the investigation. This is a normal procedure when such an incident occurs and should not cause any alarm,” said Priscilla Akora, the head of marketing and communications at PostBank, according to Daily Monitor.
She assured customers that their deposits remain safe and reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to complying with all regulations laid out by the Bank of Uganda and the Deposit Protection Fund of Uganda.
According to anonymous bank staff, the counterfeit money, bundled in Shs50,000 notes, was discovered on November 11 when a staff member retrieved cash from the vault and brought it to the counter. The authenticity of the notes was questioned, sparking further investigations.
Staff revealed that senior bank officials from the regional and head offices had visited the branch three weeks prior but failed to detect the anomaly.
The Elgon Police spokesperson, Rogers Taitika, confirmed the case is now in court.
“The bank officials, after discovering the counterfeit money, reported the case and investigations are ongoing,” Taitika said.
He added that the branch’s former operations manager has been arrested, charged, and remanded in connection with the incident.
A police detective, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested that a syndicate involving several bank personnel was responsible for smuggling the counterfeit currency into the vault.
“Each bundle had genuine notes covering the fake ones. There is a loss of Shs500 million or more,” the detective said.
According to Daily Monitor, the former operations manager handed over the office to his successor on October 28, allegedly leaving Shs500 million in the vault. The successor has since been relieved of their duties and is under investigation.
When contacted, the new operations manager declined to comment, saying, “I travelled. Approach the bank. They will give you information.”
Moses Wandera, the head of distribution channels for the eastern region and the current caretaker of the Mbale branch, also declined to comment.
This incident raises concerns about internal controls within financial institutions and the growing sophistication of counterfeit schemes.
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