Continued from part 1. Just to recap part 1, loan officers in a bank created fictitious loan applications, got the loans and withdrew the money. This kind of scheme involving “stealing in small amounts, over a long period of time” is usually difficult to discover. Before we get to how we uncovered it, here is more background This fictitious loan fraud was so good that it would have continued, had it not been for a disgruntled whistleblower, who had been part of the scheme but later left the company. Of the 12 people in the credit department, four knew about…
Loan fraud in a bank, part 1: here is how internal staff commit loan fraud
After several years of investigating fraud, I have come to the realization that in many cases, internal staff are involved in one way or the other. It is so difficult to pull off a fraud without involving an insider. When it comes fraud examination, everyone is a suspect until proven otherwise. I have found it important to take everyone’s statement to account for their time, roles and activities immediately before, during and after the fraud or theft incident. Looking carefully through those statements, you get to realize how some of their information is inconsistent either in an attempt to protect…
Don’t live beyond your means
The biggest financial challenge is living beyond your means. You could attribute this extravagant life style to our society. As one rich Ugandan once advised, “if you want to succeed in Uganda, appear to be successful by driving a great car, owning a fantastic home in the CBD and having a big office.” Well… by the time you have these things, you are already rich! The bottom line is people want to associate with success. No one will give you business deals if you don’t play Golf or enjoy coffee at the upscale Serena or Sheraton hotels. If you are…
Boardroom politics killing institutions in Uganda
When you get the opportunity of being a board member, you realize how boardroom politics is the number one killer of businesses. The most ineffective Boards are NGOs and public entities. These organizations have board members just for window dressing. They want to project a picture of being ‘well governed’ to access funds or financing. The biggest joke is the fact that most CEOs handpick most board members. Big perks If you are a Board member in some organization, it is likely that the managing director invited you to sit on the Board. Although these positions attract no salary i.e.…
Uganda’s construction industry mourns Roko Construction Ltd’s Founder
Kampala, 13th Nov 2013: Uganda has lost a top entrepreneur, Mr. Rainer Koehler, the founder of Roko Construction Company Limited, who died on Thursday last week at The Surgery Clinic in Kololo, (just after Golf Course Club) where he had been admitted after complaining of an abrupt fever. Mr. Mark Koehler, Roko’s managing director, the son of the deceased said that his dad started feeling feverish on Thursday morning while at the company’s headquarters in Kawempe. He was then taken to the Surgery Clinic in Kololo where he was attended to and later died after suffering a heart attack while…
Google honors Uganda’s 51st Independence day! What a journey it has been?
What a better Independence Day GIFT than finding a Google doodle on the front page of thehttps://www.google.com! If you used a Uganda IP address to access Google home page on 9th October 2013, you were received with the Uganda Independence Day doodle. It is a great honor to Uganda. Well done Google. It is these seemingly small things that folks at Go – ogle (Google) do that make it a great company. Here in Uganda, we are celebrating 51st independence anniversary from the British rule in 1962. It has been a long journey, but worth it. The Journey The most…