In September, Ugandan prosecutors secured another conviction for money laundering by a former Swedish Embassy accountant, only a few months after the country's first ground-breaking money laundering trial. The accused, who stole almost EUR 1.9 million, was charged by the prosecution with money laundering, embezzlement, forgery and uttering a false document. 

The prosecutors involved in this case had all benefitted from ICAR's training workshops on Financial Investigations and Asset Recovery conducted in 2016 in the context of the DFID-funded Strengthening Uganda's Anti-Corruption and Accountability Regime (SUGAR) programme. One of them had also previously been trained by ICAR as a certified trainer through its Train-the-Trainer (TTT) programme on Financial Investigations and Asset Recovery.

The prosecution team proved the importance of pursuing the proceeds of crime through the use of money laundering legislation, a hallmark of the ICAR training. The conviction is viewed as a huge victory by the prosecution as it is the first case prosecuted before the Anti-Corruption Court in which a custodial sentence has been passed down via a plea bargain.

The accused pleaded guilty to seven counts of money laundering under a plea agreement. He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and agreed to compensate the Swedish Embassy with several properties acquired using proceeds of crime.