The Criminal Investigations Directorate-CID is holding John Mwangutsya, the director of Crypto Bridge African Limited over suspicions of having defrauded Ugandans from different parts of the country over 3 billion Uganda Shillings.

Mwangutsya allegedly duped over 1000 Ugandans through online digital transactions between 2018 and 2020, according to CID Spokesperson Charles Twine.

According to police, the suspect advertised his company’s involvement in internet enterprises for various persons through the sale of bitcoins and would credit them in the form of virtual shares through various print and electronic media.

“The suspect Mwangutsya, who claimed that the business was legitimate, recruited several people as leaders purportedly on behalf of a Bulgarian firm called One life company that operates mobile wallets under the blockchain technology. These people would also recruit other people from the districts of Kampala, Masaka, Wakiso, Kabarole, Bushenyi, Ibanda, Kagadi, and others,” Twine said.

He notes that they were also tasked with recruiting new people who may be urged to buy virtual shares for Uganda Shillings 1000 for each coin in exchange for a chance to earn.

“These people could pay like Shillings 10 million with the promise of getting 6 percent in a week’s time, so they would lure you to accumulate profits to at least UGX 800,000, then they pay, and you recruit others. After getting their target in billions, they closed the business and vanished,” he said.

Mwangutsya, who was reported to police in 2020 after closing his business and leaving, was apprehended in Ibanda on Sunday with plans to flee to Rwanda, according to Twine.

Police are now urging victims of the crypto bridge African limited scam to come forward and provide testimonies to the CID headquarters, which will aid in Mwangutsya’s prosecution for acquiring money under false pretense.

Despite the fact that the principal suspect will be prosecuted, Twine argues that recovering such large quantities of money that were scammed two years ago is difficult for detectives.

“It is inherently very hard to recover this money, which has been spent over about two years. Ugandans should know that the transactions of crypto currency in Uganda are not regulated by any institution or any legal framework, therefore in the event of fraud, it is hard to do litigation or recovery,” Twine stated.

“Ugandans need to realize that some of this unlawful and illegitimate money is sometimes related with terrorism, therefore it will be unfortunate for you to provide money to a terrorist agent to come and destabilize your country–URN,” he continued.