Stanhope Finance Company has lost about $1m (about Shs1.85bn) in a money transfer scam in one of its forex bureaux. Stanhope general manager
Nandanan Kannanpulakkal confirmed the loss on Friday, in an interview with Sunday Monitor. However, he could not confirm the actual figure.

"It's true that our customers have lost a few hundred million shillings, but we don't know the exact amount. The police is still investigating," he said.
Mr Kannanpulakkal said that Mr Rupesh Kumar, the manager of Lannex Forex Bureau where the fraud occurred is currently in police custody.

"We think he defrauded the customers; the books of accounts are clean. These transactions were privately made by him and not the forex bureau as a company. However, we do not want to bias the investigations, I have just been talking to them (Police) now," he said.
Kannanpulakkal said that Stanhope management got wind of the fraud through customer complaints. These numbered about 30. Subsequently, management informed the police, leading to the arrest of Kumar in on Monday.

He promised that the customers would not lose their money. "It is not something we cannot handle," he said.
Kannanpulakkal, however, said that although they are responsible for the operations of Lannex Forex Bureau, it is an independent public liability company whose operations are different from Stanhope and that the fraud didn't take place within any of the Stanhope branches.

Information available to Sunday Monitor indicates that Kumar allegedly conned customers by issuing them with fake travellers cheques, and siphoning off
their money for personal benefit.

When Sunday Monitor contacted the Police public relations officer, Mr Assuman Mugenyi, he said he was not yet aware of the case.

He referred this reporter to Kampala Extra Regional Police Commander Oyo Benson Nyeko. He too however said he was yet to be fully briefed about the case.