By The Rio Times | Created at 2026-10-06 10:27:04 | Updated at 2026-10-06 11:25:55
1 hour ago
UGANDA · GOLD
Key Facts
- —The country Uganda, in East Africa, is a major gold refining hub, and much of its gold comes from neighbouring countries.
- —What happened Police released Euro Gold Refinery chief executive Benard Feni on police bond on Friday 2 October, New Vision reported.
- —The complaint Two Sudanese gold buyers based in Dubai say they lost about USh13 billion (US$3.3 million) in a gold deal.
- —Who ordered the probe President Yoweri Museveni told the police chief to investigate, and Feni was arrested on 8 September.
- —The catch No court charge against Feni has been reported, and his lawyer says he only refined the buyers’ gold.
- —Still open The bond terms, the fate of the gold and whether anyone will stand trial have not been made public.
Benard Feni, chief executive of Euro Gold Refinery in Kampala, has been released on police bond, two Ugandan news outlets report. He was arrested on 8 September in a probe into an alleged gold fraud against two Sudanese buyers.
New Vision, a Kampala daily, reported on Monday 5 October that Feni was released on Friday 2 October. The news site ChimpReports quoted a source confirming the release on Tuesday 6 October, though neither outlet reported a court charge or bond terms.
What the Gold Buyers Say Happened
The complaint comes from two gold buyers, Gafar Ibrahim and Nagi Mohammed, Sudanese nationals based in Dubai. They wrote to President Yoweri Museveni on 29 June 2026, according to his letter to the police chief.
They say a gold consignment stored at Duck Hunters Security Company, a security firm, disappeared. According to Matooke Republic, a free Kampala weekly, the people they dealt with then vanished, leaving the buyers without their gold.
New Vision and ChimpReports put the alleged loss at US$3.5 million, about USh13 billion (US$3.3 million at today’s rate). Dollar figures here use about 3,954 Ugandan shillings to the US dollar on 6 October 2026.
Security sources told New Vision they want Feni to bring in a member of his staff known only as Sam. They say Sam allegedly processed “the alleged fake gold” at the refinery.
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Why the President Stepped In
Museveni ordered Inspector General of Police Abas Byakagaba to oversee the case personally. “I give you two months to solve this problem if the accusers are saying the truth,” he wrote.
The buyers had already gone to several state bodies without success, the letter says. They included a State House unit for investor protection, the State House Anti-Corruption Unit and military intelligence.
Feni was arrested on Tuesday 8 September with a foreign-exchange handler named only as Agaba. Agaba, who allegedly made payments to other suspects from one buyer’s dollar account, was released with him.
An army major, a former head of Duck Hunters Security and a third man were also arrested, New Vision reported. Police and the State House Anti-Corruption Unit lead the probe, helped by the army’s Special Forces Command and military intelligence.
Museveni also asked whether Uganda should have “few gold traders, preferably, those with refineries that would be accountable.” Fraudsters, he wrote, “are damaging the image of Uganda as an investment destination.”
What Euro Gold Refinery Is
Euro Gold Refinery was officially launched in Kampala in July 2025 by Energy and Mineral Development Minister Ruth Nankabirwa. Nile Post described it as Uganda’s first fully locally owned gold refinery.
In April 2026, Nile Post reported that the Bank of Uganda had signed Euro Gold Refinery to supply gold for its reserves. The deal falls under the central bank’s domestic gold purchase programme.
Matooke Republic describes Feni as the refinery’s founder and owner. It reported that security agencies searched the company’s offices in Kamwokya, a Kampala neighbourhood, and Feni’s home in Buziga.
What the Refinery Says
Feni’s lawyer, Emmanuel Candia, denied in September that his client was involved in any fraud, Matooke Republic reported. “He operates a refinery,” Candia said, adding that the client “came in for a service of refining.”
“He performed the service in the full presence of the clients and they signed for their gold and left,” the lawyer said. Neither New Vision nor ChimpReports carried a comment from Feni or the company on his release.
Euro Gold Refinery has fought fraud claims before. In February 2025 it sued Monitor Publications and NTV Uganda over 2024 reports linking it to a German investor’s losses.
That investor, Christian Arndt, reportedly lost about USh5 billion (US$1.3 million). The refinery called the reports false and said Stanbic Bank Uganda later closed its accounts, Nile Post reported.
Feni has not been convicted of any offence and is presumed innocent.
How Uganda Polices Gold Fraud
Uganda Police’s Mineral Protection Unit handled 135 mineral-related cases in 2025, according to the force’s annual crime report. Of these, 102 involved fraud or obtaining money by false pretence.
Of all 135 cases, only 41 reached court, and five of those ended in convictions. Another 83 were still under inquiry when the report was compiled.
In a statement on Monday 31 August, police announced 16 arrests over a separate US$4 million fake gold deal. The complainant was a businessman from Dubai, and police said the suspects operated under the name Real Sunnex Ltd.
Four constables had guarded the suspects at an illegal gold refinery used for that fraud, police said. The force urged buyers to “verify the legitimacy of dealers and refineries before entering into any transactions.”
What It Means for US Readers
Uganda’s gold trade has drawn US sanctions before, though not against this company. On 17 March 2022, the US Treasury sanctioned African Gold Refinery in Uganda and its Belgian owner, Alain Goetz.
Treasury said that refinery took in illicit gold from mines in eastern DR Congo controlled by armed groups. Both still appeared on the US sanctions list on 6 October 2026, while Euro Gold Refinery did not.
In 2022, Treasury also said more than 90 percent of Congo’s gold is smuggled to neighbours such as Uganda and Rwanda. Much of it is refined there and exported, particularly to the United Arab Emirates.
US companies feel this through sourcing rules set by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Firms that report to it must check yearly whether gold in their products came from Congo or neighbours such as Uganda.
Gold exports hit a record US$5.8 billion in 2025, almost half of Uganda’s export earnings on Bank of Uganda figures. Most of that metal is refined and re-exported rather than mined in Uganda, as our guide to Uganda’s economy and politics explains.
For Americans offered gold in Uganda, the police advice is simple. Check that dealers and refineries are legitimate before any money changes hands.
What Is Not Known
The terms of Feni’s police bond have not been published, and no court charge against him has been reported. It is also unclear when he must report back to the police.
Whether the gold was fake, and where the consignment went, has not been established in public. No recovery of the buyers’ money has been reported.
The size of the loss is also uncertain. Museveni’s letter, as quoted by New Vision, speaks of “hundreds of thousands of dollars” stolen from the buyers.
The status of the other suspects, and of the employee known as Sam, is unclear. It is also not known whether the probe affects the refinery’s gold supply contract with the Bank of Uganda.
What Comes Next
Museveni gave the police chief two months to resolve the complaint. Counted from 17 August, the date Matooke Republic gave for the directive, that period ends in mid-October.
Uganda has also been drafting rules to move gold trading into licensed buying centres. Officials discussed the draft with refiners, traders and security officials in May, Pulse Uganda reported.
More: Uganda news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Benard Feni?
He is the chief executive of Euro Gold Refinery, a Kampala gold refinery officially launched in July 2025. Matooke Republic describes him as its founder and owner.
Has Feni been charged with a crime?
No court charge against the Euro Gold Refinery chief has been reported. He was arrested on 8 September and released on police bond on 2 October, and his lawyer denies any fraud.
How much money is involved?
Two Sudanese buyers say they lost about USh13 billion (US$3.3 million). Ugandan outlets put the alleged loss at US$3.5 million.
Is Euro Gold Refinery under US sanctions?
No. It did not appear on the US Treasury sanctions list on 6 October 2026. Another Ugandan company, African Gold Refinery, has been on the list since March 2022.
Why does Uganda export so much gold?
Uganda refines and re-exports gold, much of it from neighbouring countries such as DR Congo. Gold made up almost half of its export earnings in 2025, on Bank of Uganda figures.
Sources: ChimpReports, 6 October 2026; New Vision, 5 October 2026; Matooke Republic, 15 September 2026; Nile Post, 9 April 2026; Nile Post, 10 February 2025; Uganda Police Force, 31 August 2026; Uganda Police Force, Annual Crime Report 2025, April 2026; US Department of the Treasury, 17 March 2022; Daily Monitor (Bank of Uganda data), 13 February 2026; Pulse Uganda, 18 May 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error
