Man Remanded Over Shs585 Million Fake Gold Export Scam in Kampala

A Kampala man has been remanded to Luzira Prison after allegedly duping a Malaysian businessman out of $150,000 (about Shs585 million) in a fake gold export deal.

James Ssentumbwe appeared before Makindye Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, days after his arrest in a joint operation involving the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, the Criminal Investigations Directorate and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. He will remain in custody until March 6, 2026.

Prosecutors told court that Ssentumbwe, together with a co-suspect Adams Kibuye Yawe who is still at large, allegedly approached a Malaysian investor, Kon Kin Kheong, in January this year with a gold export proposition. The duo reportedly persuaded him to wire $150,000, telling him the money would cover export documentation fees for 50 kilograms of gold destined for Dubai. Investigators say the gold shipment never existed.

To pull off the scheme, Kibuye allegedly carried a forged State House identity card that identified him as a “Political Mobiliser,” a ruse investigators say was meant to make him appear well-connected and trustworthy.

Authorities have since widened the investigation beyond the fraud itself. Detectives have linked the two suspects to illegal gold processing operations in Wakiso District, allegedly run out of an unlicensed refinery connected to a company known as Hey Transporters and Logistics in the Lweza-Lubowa area.

Security agencies say the hunt for Kibuye and other suspected accomplices is continuing as investigations into the wider network remain active.