By Uganada times Investigation
Total mistrust in Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) Uganda by customers is fast growing each passing day and it is beginning to paint an ugly impression on the country’s financial and banking industry.
For quite an elongated epoch of time, bank fraud or scams have been real and have affected many at any time. From little complaint murmurs of bank account holders having small amounts fraudulently deducted from their savings and current accounts to billionairess suffering the same fate.
Recently, Kampala Epress investigation team was tipped off that there is an ongoing bank fraud case at DTB involving a customer who says that Shs100bn was dubiously and irregularly removed from the account over a spread period of time.
Kampala Express has since learnt that various customers at DTB have suffered this fate and lost colossal amounts of money. These frauds apparently have been happening at various DTB branches and in more prominent cases involved staffers of the bank and indication that depositors’ money is not safe.
In this news article, we share some testimonies from the victims and their perspective of financial frauds and scams that have left them crippled financially.
Hypothetically believed to be the vertebral column of the financial sector in Uganda and the economy at large, having operated in the country right from the 1970s, DTB with over 33 branches planted in different parts of the country, has been embroiled in a number of scandals whose peril illuminates the big crisis in the banking industry and financial sector.
Customer’s ordeal.
Sources privy to the Shs100bn scandal that is brewing and risks breaking the backbone of DTB confessed to this website that they have always been trying to avoid a full throttle court battle but the arrogance of the bank and confessions from other customers have left them with no option but ‘to fight for what is rightful theirs’.
“One day the customer made account reconciliation with their accountants, only to find that large sums of money had been lost from the account – billions of money had been siphoned from the accounts over a long spread period of time. This is not the way you treat customers who have trusted you with large sums of money,” the source, who preferred anonymity, told us.
The source also declined to name the affected customers because the case in this matter already filled in court will soon be made public.
But what the source maintains is that DTB fraudulently withdrew approximately Shs100bn from this customer’s account. He advises other DTB customers keenly to watch their account or if possible, shift to other banks where their money will be safer.
Banks are supposed to be the safe haven where dispositor rush to keep their money and indeed Bank of Uganda provided Financial Consumer Protection Guidelines (FCPGs) to help them execute this mandate but some banks like DTB are preying on their customers and victimizing them.
Court battle
According to another source, the DTB customer involved in the Shs100bn filled case already presented too much conclusive evidence that will expose the bank and all the tricks they use to mismanage the customers.
“What the bank can do now is call these customers and reach an agreement. The commercial court can help with the mediation. The good thing is that what the customers wants is his money and has no interest in exposing and embarrassing the bank. The customer is not relenting.” the source explained candidly.
This will be the first time DTB is in court over a fraud case involving billions of shillings. Because of their dishonesty as demonstrated in the courts of law, DTB battled in court with a family that accused them of a Shs10 billion fraud in July 2017.
This is just of the many such cases that were widely covered by the press. This Shs10bn case opened many customers eyes especially on what could be seen as suspicious banking practices by DTB.
More fraud cases at DTB
In December 2015, in what looked an insider aided job, two security stole Shs1.1bn from DTB Kikubo branch enroute to main branch on Kampala Road.
Relatedly in April 2019, Kampala Central Police Station (CPS) detained two suspects on allegations of stealing Shs700m from Diamond Trust Bank. Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson, Patrick Onyango, said the suspects were arrested for defrauding DTB’s clients’ accounts and sending the money to their accomplice’s account.
The bank has also suffered from the improper behavior of their employees who on several occasions decided to run off with millions of depositors monies. DTB in November 2016 confirmed that a branch manager in Malaba shawl from the bank SHs345m which was from customers’ accounts.
Reports indicate that the bank’s total assets were valued at about UGX:1.606 trillion as of December 2018. It is listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange under the Diamond Trust Bank Group, a large financial services provider with operations in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Watch the Space!!
Would you like to get published on this Website? You can now email The Uganda Times: An Opinion any breaking news, Exposes, story ideas, human interest articles or interesting videos on: news@ugandatimes.ug. Videos and pictures can be sent to +256 750 501543 on WhatsApp
