NEW GOLD SCANDAL! Kampala Gold Firms Washa, Elves Linked to Fresh Sh3bn Dubai Investor Fraud
Uganda’s controversial gold trade has once again been plunged into the spotlight following explosive allegations of a sophisticated international gold fraud syndicate that allegedly stretched its tentacles from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Uganda, Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Dubai, leaving a foreign investor counting losses of more than $800,000 (about UGX3BN) and staring at the collapse of his company.
At the centre of the scandal is Dubai-based businessman Brian Harkin, Chairman of Xterra Trading FZCO, a DMCC-registered trading company operating from the United Arab Emirates, who has formally petitioned Ugandan authorities to investigate what he describes as a vast and highly coordinated criminal network operating throughout the gold value chain.
According to Harkin, the alleged syndicate perfected a system that touched every stage of the gold business, from sourcing and transportation to documentation, export facilitation and investor recruitment, with one objective in mind: extracting huge sums of money from unsuspecting financiers and international buyers through fraudulent transactions.
The complaint paints a picture of a network so organised that it allegedly involved sellers, exporters, facilitators, consultants and logistics players spread across several countries.
In his complaint, Harkin alleges that the syndicate issued falsified import documents purporting to show gold being legally imported from the Democratic Republic of Congo into Uganda. He further alleges that forged export permits were produced, some purportedly bearing the signature of former Energy Minister Dr. Ruth Nankabirwa.
The complaint further accuses the network of generating fraudulent Sale and Purchase Agreements that required financiers to transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars supposedly destined for the Uganda Revenue Authority in the form of taxes, royalties and export charges.
According to Harkin, those payments were never remitted to URA despite repeated representations that the funds were required to facilitate export approvals.
The complaint also alleges that false invoices and commercial documentation were generated to support what turned out to be fictitious transactions.
Harkin says the devastating financial impact of the alleged fraud has left Xterra Trading FZCO facing liquidation, with losses exceeding $800,000 over a period of more than seven months.
“It is evident that the Syndicate’s sole intent was to misappropriate investment funds under false pretences,” the complaint states.
The businessman says he has submitted the complaint not only to seek justice for his company but also to prevent further damage to Uganda’s reputation as a gold trading hub.
The complaint identifies several individuals alleged to be members of the syndicate.
Named as the alleged principal actors are Richard Yvon Tuema, described as a seller and syndicate leader and a citizen of the Democratic Republic of Congo holding a Belgian passport, and Hugues Yoka, also known as Hugo Stone, another Congolese national and business associate of Tuema.
Also named is Joshua “Jay” Rosborough, an American citizen who allegedly acted as Export Facilitator and SPA Contract Manager.
The complaint further names Francis Siko and Elizabeth Esther Steenkamp of Washa Lidjiwe Investments as exporters involved in the transactions.
Steenkamp’s name is particularly notable because she was earlier arraigned before the Makindye Chief Magistrate’s Court and remanded on charges related to obtaining money by false pretences and conspiracy to commit a felony in another high-value gold fraud matter.
Christopher Wamala of Elves Minerals Uganda is also named among those the complainant wants investigated.
According to Harkin, his company’s troubles began when Joshua “Jay” Rosborough convinced them to enter Uganda’s gold market.
Rosborough allegedly presented himself as an adviser and export facilitator capable of arranging legitimate gold exports from Uganda to Dubai.
Trusting his expertise and representations, Xterra Trading FZCO and its financing partners began pursuing a large gold transaction.
On March 28, 2025, a Sale and Purchase Agreement was signed involving Washa Lidjiwe Investments and Tier 1 Gold Refiners (SL) Ltd of Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Joshua Rosborough simultaneously acted as Export Facilitator under the arrangement.
On the buyer side stood Al Sahab Jewelry Trading LLC of Dubai represented by Johannes S. Steyn and Yogi Gouti.
The financiers included LFH Group (Pty) Ltd of South Africa represented by Managing Director M.J. Loubser acting on behalf of Xterra Trading FZCO.
Also involved was Swedish trade consultant Bjorn Lars Ake Nilsson.
The transaction centred on a trial shipment of 50 kilograms of gold with a purity level of between 96 and 97 percent.
The agreed purchase price was stated as USD 64,000 per kilogram for a total transaction value of approximately USD 3.2 million upon successful assay confirmation.
The agreement required funds to be paid through Ecobank Uganda, Kampala Road branch, into account number 7202501974.
A certain Donozio Kasule was identified as the responsible banking officer.
What initially appeared to be a lucrative international gold transaction would soon unravel into allegations of fraud.
According to Harkin, the financiers were instructed to transfer more than USD 600,000 to facilitate export of the agreed gold bars.
Through informal discussions the gold bars raised to 100 kgs.
The funds were represented as payments required by URA for taxes, royalties and insurance.
The exporters Washa Lidjiwe Investments allegedly informed the financiers that URA regulations required exports to be conducted in minimum tranches of 450 kilograms because of the quantities of gold allegedly imported into Uganda by the seller.
The complainant says this explanation later proved false.
Despite repeated requests, no PRN references were ever produced.
No official URA confirmations were provided.
No evidence emerged showing that the taxes and royalties had actually been paid.
Yet the gold never left Uganda.
ENTER ELVES MINERALS
As frustration mounted, the Washa Lidjiwe Investments allegedly offered an alternative arrangement.
According to the complaint, an eight-kilogram gold settlement was proposed to compensate the complainant for the failed initial transaction.
However, the settlement came with fresh demands.
The complainant says he was required to provide an additional USD 72,000.
Again, the money was represented as being needed for taxes and royalties payable to URA.
This second transaction was handled through Elves Minerals Uganda.
Christopher Wamala was identified as the exporter.
Kim Jayden Sukchun was listed as director.
The company operated from Lubowa in Kampala.
The buyer remained Al Sahab in Dubai.
The financier remained LFH Group acting for Xterra Trading FZCO.
Joshua Rosborough continued acting as adviser and Export Facilitator.
According to the complaint, USD 68,360 of the agreed USD 72,000 was paid.
Soon afterwards, the complainant was informed that URA had allegedly flagged three open transactions involving 100 kilograms, 8 kilograms and 25 kilograms of gold.
The exporters allegedly claimed the transactions needed to be consolidated into a single export permit covering 241.5 kilograms.
The complainant says further funding was demanded.
By this stage, suspicions were growing.
The complaint alleges that under pressure, Christopher Wamala admitted that money intended for payment of taxes and royalties had instead been paid directly to Richard Tuema.
According to the complaint, Wamala allegedly acknowledged that the payment was made to facilitate movement of the gold outside formal channels.
The complaint claims this constituted a direct breach of the SPA and amounted to fraud against both the financier and the Uganda Revenue Authority.
The complaint further alleges that the complainant was referred to one Patrick Beligo of Coppin Mining Minerals Group in Tanzania.
Beligo allegedly confirmed in writing that he possessed the eight-kilogram consignment.
However, according to the complaint, he also admitted that the gold had no supporting documentation and had allegedly entered Tanzania illegally.
The complainant says Beligo claimed to have received a total of 108 kilograms from Tuema.
The allegations do not stop there.
According to the complaint, Francis Siko was repeatedly asked to provide proof that approximately USD 600,000 had been paid to URA.
The complaint states that Siko initially told the complainant that the payment had been made.
He allegedly claimed that Tuema had imported approximately 7,000 kilograms of gold from the DRC into Uganda and that this had triggered system changes at URA limiting export declarations.
Siko allegedly further claimed that Tuema bribed a URA official to delete entries from the tax system, causing relevant records to disappear.
However, according to the complaint, Siko later changed his version of events.
On October 13, 2025, after failing to provide documentary proof, he allegedly admitted that the funds had instead been handed to Tuema in cash.
The complaint says Siko then argued that he considered the matter settled because Tuema had offered the eight-kilogram replacement deal and handed the matter to Wamala.
When informed that Wamala had allegedly repeated the same conduct, Siko reportedly dismissed responsibility and insisted it was no longer his concern.
Red Pepper contacted Washa Lidjiwe Investments for comment.
They acknowledged dealings with the buyers but insisted the dispute had been settled.
According to him, Washa refunded USD 5,000 and considered the matter closed.
The company also produced a document dated December 11, 2025, which it claims represented a final settlement agreement.
The document purported to authorise payment of USD 5,000 to a Tanzanian identified as Patrick for release of eight kilograms of gold described as collateral.
It further purported to release Washa Lidjiwe Investments from all future liability.
But Xterra flatly rejected the document.
The complainants say neither their company names nor authorised representatives appear in it.
“My name, ID number or company details are not there,” Harkin responded.
Andrew Phillips, another representative of the complainants, was equally dismissive.
“How can they settle over $700,000 with $5,000?” he asked.
Phillips insisted that the USD 5,000 represented nothing more than a refund of shipping expenses for air freight that was never utilised because the gold never moved.
“We never signed a release of liability. Who is M&I? That isn’t us,” Phillips said.
According to Phillips, Christopher Wamala was part of the same syndicate and allegedly took an additional USD 72,000.
He insists that Wamala had no authority to act on behalf of the complainants and that all claims of settlement are false.
The complaint further alleges that the syndicate’s standard operating method involved smuggling gold from the DRC using falsified import permits, recruiting Joshua Rosborough to attract foreign investors, manipulating Sale and Purchase Agreements and repeatedly invoking URA requirements to justify demands for additional payments.
Whenever questions were raised, the complainant alleges, new explanations emerged and new financial demands followed.
When contacted by Red Pepper, Joshua “Jay” Rosborough denied wrongdoing.
He insisted that he too was a victim and had no idea he was dealing with fraudsters.
The complainants reject that explanation and continue to maintain that he played a central role in facilitating the transactions.
Today, Brian Harkin says he has only one objective.
He wants Ugandan authorities to investigate every transaction, verify every permit, examine every payment and hold accountable every person involved.
At 56 years old, he says the losses have pushed him to the brink of losing both his company and personal assets.
He says many more victims may exist but lack the resources to pursue justice.
The allegations against Washa Lidjiwe Investments have emerged against a backdrop of mounting legal troubles for one of its key operators, Elizabeth Esther Steenkamp.
Uganda’s State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU), working jointly with the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), previously charged Steenkamp, a Kenyan national and Managing Director of Washa Lidjiwe Investments Limited, with obtaining money by false pretence and conspiracy to commit a felony in a separate high-value gold fraud case.
Steenkamp was arraigned before the Makindye Chief Magistrate’s Court and remanded until October 28, 2025.
According to prosecutors, between June and August 2025 at Plot 244 Bemba Road in Munyonyo, Steenkamp and other suspects still at large allegedly conspired to defraud American investor Vladimir Toussaint Yvens of USD 255,650, approximately Shs980 million.
The prosecution alleges that the investor was promised assistance in exporting 46 kilograms of gold from Kampala to New York. The money was reportedly collected under the guise of facilitating declaration fees, government royalties and processing documentation required for export.
However, investigators allege that the gold was never exported and communication with the investor subsequently ceased.
The case immediately attracted public attention because it came amid growing concerns over a sharp increase in gold-related fraud across Uganda’s rapidly expanding minerals sector.
Indeed, authorities say gold scams have surged throughout 2025, prompting an unprecedented crackdown involving multiple government agencies.
In one recent operation, SHACU and CID arrested seven individuals accused of defrauding a Nigerian businessman of USD 70,000 through a fake gold scheme in which suspects allegedly posed as exporters before supplying counterfeit gold bars.
In another case, authorities arraigned Luyima Godfrey after he allegedly obtained more than USD 600,000 from a South Korean investor by claiming he could supply 53 kilograms of gold. Investigators say forged documents and false identities were allegedly used to facilitate the fraud.
Government records further indicate that more than 56 suspects connected to gold fraud operations have been investigated during an eight-month enforcement campaign. Authorities reportedly recovered approximately Shs900 million during raids conducted at rented premises and makeshift refineries across Kampala.
The growing number of complaints has alarmed regulators and investigators, with concerns focusing on document forgery, shell companies, fake export permits and sophisticated schemes targeting investors from Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East.
The Chief Political Commissar and police spokesperson, Kituuma Rusoke, has previously corroborated information from the Energy Ministry’s Commissioner for Geology and Mines, Agnes Alaba, indicating that no fewer than 20 private companies involved in Uganda’s gold trade are currently under investigation.
According to officials, the inquiries are being coordinated through the Police Minerals Protection Unit (PMPU) and involve allegations ranging from investor fraud and forged documentation to illegal gold transactions worth billions of shillings.
Among the companies that have reportedly attracted the attention of investigators are Howks Guard Security, B-Safe Security Systems Ltd, Duck Hunters Security Services, Aurus Traders Ltd, Spanex Cargo Company Ltd, Kerlibar Logistics, Hey Transport Ltd, Berkshire Traders Ltd, Quantum Refineries & Analytical Laboratories, Gemstone Refinery, Progress Mining Logistics, Blessed River Stone Ltd, Cyclopes Defence Systems Ltd, Alakara Processing Plant SMC Ltd, Alpha Refinery Ltd, Davinnet Gold Dealers Ltd, Liverstrong Logistics, Real Sunex Ltd, Benal Group Uganda Ltd, Green Link Freight Logistics, Nexcorp Ventures Company, Nilton Smelting Ltd, Washa Lidjiwe Investments and Nam Global Minerals Ltd among others.
Some of the companies have denied wrongdoing and insist they are victims of malicious campaigns intended to damage their reputations.
Beyond PMPU investigations, other agencies involved in the ongoing crackdown include SHACU and the UPDF’s Defence Intelligence and Security.
Commissioner Agnes Alaba has repeatedly warned that gold-related fraud has become a major threat to Uganda’s mining sector and investor confidence.
According to Alaba, government is considering stronger regulatory measures, including tighter oversight and possible centralisation of aspects of the gold trade, to protect genuine investors from fraudsters.
Officials say a joint report prepared by PMPU and the Energy Ministry identified numerous complaints and suspicious transactions, leading to a broad inter-agency investigation launched following a crisis meeting late last year.
Several foreign investors reportedly triggered the investigations after lodging complaints involving millions of dollars. Among them was Indian investor Thomas Vinal, whose complaint reportedly involved more than Shs7 billion.
Another investor raised concerns involving approximately USD 140,000 linked to B-Safe Security Systems. Indian businessman Ajith Pahuja also reportedly complained about losing USD 73,250, prompting investigators to scrutinise additional companies operating within the sector.
It is against this backdrop of intensified investigations, criminal prosecutions and mounting investor complaints that the fresh allegations by Dubai-based investor Brian Harkin and Xterra Trading FZCO have now emerged, further increasing pressure on authorities to determine whether an organised international gold fraud syndicate is operating within Uganda’s lucrative gold trade.
As the complaint lands on the desks of investigators, Uganda’s gold sector once again finds itself under intense scrutiny, with allegations of fake permits, missing taxes, phantom gold shipments, forged documentation, alleged smuggling routes and an international network that one foreign investor claims robbed him of more than $800,000 while leaving behind nothing but paperwork, promises and vanished gold.
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