The court orders Stanbic Bank to pay back Shs 339 million to a drug company after online banking fraud totaled over Shs 2 billion. Judge Cornelia Kakooza Sabiiti ruled that the bank failed to create strong fraud detection systems to protect customer money. The case started when Mukono Company, Abacus Parenteral Drugs, found unauthorized payments from their account between 2015 and 2018. Stanbic denied responsibility, claiming they warned customers about online banking risks in writing. The bank argued that customers hold all authority for transactions through online services.
The judge decided both sides shared blame for the money loss. She found that the bank should have noticed repeated payments to the wrong accounts with mismatched names. However, she also criticized the drug company for letting staff share passwords and combining transaction roles. The court decided Abacus was 80 percent responsible for the losses because it lacked basic financial controls. The judge ordered Stanbic to pay 20 percent of the total losses with 18 percent yearly interest until full payment. Both companies must pay their legal costs from the lawsuit.
The judge decided both sides shared blame for the money loss. She found that the bank should have noticed repeated payments to the wrong accounts with mismatched names. However, she also criticized the drug company for letting staff share passwords and combining transaction roles. The court decided Abacus was 80 percent responsible for the losses because it lacked basic financial controls. The judge ordered Stanbic to pay 20 percent of the total losses with 18 percent yearly interest until full payment. Both companies must pay their legal costs from the lawsuit.
