The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) is hunting for a one Gurjinder Singh for allegedly defrauding manufacturers and distributors of pharmaceuticals in Uganda of more than sh20 billion. Gurjinder, who holds double citizenship, is believed to have fled to India.
He has allegedly been procuring healthcare supplies from among other pharmaceuticals, Rene Industries Limited and Rene Pharmacy Limited, on credit but failed to clear the debts despite having sold the products.
It is alleged that Gurjinder who traded under Escort Pharmaceuticals Limited located at Richard House, along Martin Road, in Old Kampala would also issue fake employment letters to his employees who would use them to get loans from banks.
Gurjinder would allegedly force his employees to give him the biggest percentage of the money they have acquired from banks to him. The commercial banks and pharmaceutical manufacturers are hunting for Gurjinder who is facing a fraud probe under criminal reference CID/C40/207.
Rushikesh Vadodaria, the Managing Director Rene Industries Limited, in his petition to CID says that Gurjinder has been issuing fake cheques to them and it was a tactic for him to buy time as he prepared to flee the country. Vadodaria adds that Gurjinder using his passport number A00122564 and ID number RM83602107WMCA fled to India with huge bills unpaid.
“On several occasions at the promise of settling overdue payment of 912 million shillings, Escort Pharmaceuticals Limited has been issuing post-dated cheques which eventually bounced. Gurjinder also issued personal cheques as a guarantee which were also dishonored. He clearly had an immoral intention to breach the trust of the pharmaceutical sector in Uganda,” Vadodaria explains in the petition.
Charles Twine, the CID Spokesperson, confirmed that several complaints have been received from various pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacies about Gurjinder’s fraudulent conduct.
Twine said CID working alongside other security agencies is in the process of ensuring that Gurjinder is extradited since he is also a Ugandan citizen to face charges of fraud amounting to over Shillings 20 billion.
“We received complaints from different pharmaceutical companies. One of them was Rene Industries Limited, accusing the directors of Escorts Uganda Limited that fraudulently obtaining drugs from these manufacturers. Whereas they thought it was credit but it turned out to be a fraud. We are doing whatever is possible to ensure he is brought back,” Twine said.
CID arrested Escort Pharmaceuticals Limited co-director, Jaspreet Singh, but he has since been released on bond. This is because Jaspreet owned only 5% of the company shares and by law, he could not make any decisions on behalf of the company.
Detectives have also unearthed a trick by Gurjinder and Jaspreet in connivance with a licensed insolvency practitioner, Ronald Mutumba, to declare the company bankrupt. This means it would not be capable of paying its debts.
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