URA manager arrested with $60,000 bribe

• URA has arrested manager Geoffrey Kawere Sozzi over an alleged $60,000 bribe.

• The suspects allegedly first demanded $100,000 from a taxpayer undergoing an audit.

• Investigators arrested Sozzi after money changed hands at a Kampala restaurant.

• A clearing agent has also been arrested as URA hunts other suspects.

Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has arrested one of its managers over an alleged attempt to solicit a $60,000 bribe from a taxpayer who was undergoing an audit.

URA identified the suspect as Geoffrey Kawere Sozzi, a manager External Relations in the Authority's Customs Department.

Robert Kalumba, the URA spokesperson, paraded the suspect before reporters on Monday.

“Today is a sad day for URA. With us we have a staff member who allegedly was part of a group that tried to take a bribe worth $60, 000 from a tax payer.” he announced.

He revealed that Sozzi was part of a wider group that allegedly approached the unidentified  taxpayer through a clearing agent and offered to help stop or influence the audit.

The group, he said, first demanded $100,000 before negotiations brought the amount down to $60,000.

A whistleblower however, alerted the URA investigations team, which then started tracking the suspects.

The operation culminated in a meeting at a restaurant in Kampala at about 9pm last Thursday.

Kalumba said its investigators arrested Sozzi after the money changed hands.

The clearing agent linked to the alleged deal has also been arrested and is assisting investigators.

The URA spokesperson said other members of the suspected network remain at large and are being pursued.

Its legal team is preparing the case before Sozzi is taken to court.

URA described the arrest as part of a wider crackdown on corruption within the tax body.

URA credited the whistleblower for exposing the alleged scheme.

“Without a whistleblower we would never have caught this man,” the authority said.

It urged members of the public to report suspected corruption through its whistleblower line, 0800 257700.