An offshore hacker group stole approximately $16.8 million from the Bank of Uganda. The state-owned New Vision newspaper reported on Thursday that the Southeast Asia-based group, calling itself “Waste,” carried out the attack at the beginning of the month.

The hacker group allegedly infiltrated central bank systems and illicitly transferred 62 billion local shillings. According to New Vision, these cybercriminals are based in Southeast Asia and have taken part of their loot

The Bank of Uganda nevertheless managed to recover more than half of the stolen sum. The President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, immediately ordered an investigation to be opened. For its part, the Daily Monitor, an independent local newspaper, mentioned the possible involvement of an internal accomplice at the central bank in this operation

Cyberattacks of this kind are not uncommon in Uganda. Banks, financial firms, and telecommunications companies are among the main targets of hackers. According to members of the local police, some establishments prefer to remain silent about these incidents in order to avoid scaring their customers and losing their trust