Gold trade is a high-stakes business that requires maximum confidentiality. However, it has increasingly become fragile for a number of businessmen operating within the axis of Dubai, Kampala and South Africa due to a predatory scheme of operators that prey on dealers’ trust.
Now, a group of businesspersons are risking everything to tear the veil away, taking the fight directly to regional law enforcement. A whistleblower acting on behalf of affected gold dealers has filed a formal petition with the Uganda police, urging it to investigate and rein in two ring leaders accused of orchestrating a sophisticated international fraud ring.
The accused are Abdul Suhail Shaik, an Indian national, and Imran Hasim Bhula, a South African passport holder of Indian descent. The pair is accused of running a consistent and ruthless campaign of extortion against legitimate gold dealers across three countries.
The whistleblower’s letter paints a picture not of a simple theft, but of a form of corporate terrorism. The duo’s alleged method is to infiltrate trading circles, gain access to sensitive commercial information and then turn it into a weapon.
They are accused of threatening to expose dealers’ confidential trading data to “rogue security operatives” in Uganda, South Africa, and the UAE. The rogue security operatives, in turn, reportedly harass the businessmen through extortion.
Our efforts to reach out to Kituuma Rusoke, the Uganda police spokesperson, have so far been futile but a knowledgeable top security officer confided to us that there are numerous complaints about the scheme.
I have been scammed in gold deals in Uganda. I had opened an official case and provided the police with all the evidence. They have done NOTHING to bring the criminals in.
Instead the police themselves were trying to extort money from me for fuel and costs to geolocate the scammer amongst others expenses. The Scammer is a well known individual in Uganda with a permanent business address. It is shocking how useless the police must be not to be able to anything.