Summary:

• Sikhou Gassama, a city businessman facing charges of making false statements and money laundering related to 9.6 billion shillings, has applied for bail at the Nakasero Anti-Corruption Court in Uganda.

The Nakasero Anti-Corruption Court is set to consider a bail request from a city businessman accused of providing false statements to a Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) tax officer, involving a sum of 9.6 billion shillings.

Sikhou Gassama, aged 61, facing charges related to making false statements, false declarations, failure to maintain proper records, and money laundering, has formally applied for bail. Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga is scheduled to review Gassama’s bail application on Wednesday.

Gassama was remanded to Luzira Prison on December 8, 2023, after Senior Principal Grade One Magistrate Abert Asiimwe determined that he lacked jurisdiction over the money laundering offense. The court advised Gassama to seek bail at the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court.

In his bail application, Gassama contends that he has a constitutional right to be released pending the case’s hearing. The charges against him include violations under various legal provisions, such as Section 58(1)(a) of the Tax Procedures Code Act of 2014 and Section 116(b) and 136(2)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2017, as amended.

Allegations suggest that between 2016 and 2022, as the director of Gassama & Brothers Company Ltd at Sarah Mall, Martin Road, Kampala, Gassama submitted fraudulent income tax returns, underreporting a total income of 9.6 billion shillings to a URA tax officer. Additionally, he is accused of failing to maintain proper business records for tax purposes during the same period.

The money laundering charges claim that Gassama intentionally concealed and disguised the source of the money, allegedly aware that the 9.6 billion shillings constituted proceeds of a crime.

According to the law, making false statements to a tax officer could result in a two-year prison sentence or a fine not exceeding 960,000 shillings. Offenses under the East African Community Customs Management Act and failure to maintain proper records carry potential penalties of up to three years in prison or a fine not exceeding $10,000 (approximately 37.7 million shillings) and two years in prison or a fine not exceeding 960,000 shillings, respectively. The Anti-Money Laundering Act stipulates a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment or a fine not exceeding 2 billion shillings for those convicted of money laundering offenses.