Archival Sense
JF-Expert Member
- Dec 16, 2025
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A businessman has been remanded to prison over an alleged gold scam involving more than Shs13 billion, in a case that underscores ongoing concerns about fraudulent mineral transactions targeting foreign investors.
Muhammad Ali was arraigned before the Makindye Magistrates Court by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, working jointly with the Criminal Investigations Directorate and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, on charges of theft and cheating. He was remanded until May 5, 2026.
Muhammad Ali (Picture courtesy of State House Uganda)
Prosecution alleges that between September and October 2025, Ali, while working as a manager at Duck Hunters Security Company, and others still at large defrauded Dubai-based investors of USD 3.5 million (approximately Shs13 billion) through fake gold transactions.
According to investigators, the investors had travelled to Uganda in search of gold suppliers and were introduced to various dealers by the suspect. They initially purchased 10 kilogrammes of gold worth USD 700,000 from a company identified as Spanex Ltd.
It is further alleged that Ali later convinced the investors to engage in a second, larger transaction involving 30 kilogrammes of gold valued at USD 2.4 million, purportedly supplied by a military officer.
After the purchase, the gold was reportedly tested at Azzura Refinery and later stored at Duck Hunters Security Company, pending export to Dubai. However, the consignment allegedly disappeared, prompting the investors to return to Uganda, where they discovered they had been defrauded.
Authorities say investigations are ongoing into the operations of the companies involved, as well as the alleged role of individuals posing as security or military personnel in facilitating the scheme.
Muhammad Ali was arraigned before the Makindye Magistrates Court by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, working jointly with the Criminal Investigations Directorate and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, on charges of theft and cheating. He was remanded until May 5, 2026.
Prosecution alleges that between September and October 2025, Ali, while working as a manager at Duck Hunters Security Company, and others still at large defrauded Dubai-based investors of USD 3.5 million (approximately Shs13 billion) through fake gold transactions.
According to investigators, the investors had travelled to Uganda in search of gold suppliers and were introduced to various dealers by the suspect. They initially purchased 10 kilogrammes of gold worth USD 700,000 from a company identified as Spanex Ltd.
It is further alleged that Ali later convinced the investors to engage in a second, larger transaction involving 30 kilogrammes of gold valued at USD 2.4 million, purportedly supplied by a military officer.
After the purchase, the gold was reportedly tested at Azzura Refinery and later stored at Duck Hunters Security Company, pending export to Dubai. However, the consignment allegedly disappeared, prompting the investors to return to Uganda, where they discovered they had been defrauded.
Authorities say investigations are ongoing into the operations of the companies involved, as well as the alleged role of individuals posing as security or military personnel in facilitating the scheme.
