The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has arrested a senior staff member over allegations of receiving a USD60,000 (about Shs207 million) bribe from a taxpayer in Kampala.
Geoffrey Ssozi, the Manager of External Operations in the Customs Department, was arrested after he was allegedly caught receiving the money from a taxpayer at a renowned restaurant in Kampala last Thursday.
URA Assistant Commissioner for Public and Corporate Affairs, Robert Kalumba, said the suspect had approached the taxpayer and offered to help stop an ongoing audit into the company in exchange for money.
“There was an audit that was being done on the taxpayer and this team got in touch with the taxpayer, with the help of the clearing agent and tried to convince them that they can help the taxpayer cut out that audit,” Kalumba said.
According to Kalumba, URA received information from a whistleblower and launched an investigation that established that Ssozi had initially demanded USD100,000, equivalent to about Shs345 million, before the amount was negotiated down to USD60,000 (about Shs207 million).
The clearing agent allegedly involved in the deal was also arrested and is assisting investigators as URA works to establish whether other people were involved.
URA Commissioner General John R. Musinguzi said the authority was strengthening its fight against corruption and urged the public to report cases of bribery.
“The fight against corruption is intensifying in URA and we continue to uphold a zero-tolerance policy to it. We call upon the general public to report all incidents of corruption as we fight to close all gaps of revenue leakage from these avenues,” Musinguzi said.
URA said its legal team is preparing the case file, while the money seized during the operation will be presented in court as an exhibit.
The authority has urged members of the public with information about corruption to report through its toll-free line 0800 257 700.
