Wanted Chinese investor flies out

A Chinese businessman whom Rwanda sought to extradite from Uganda on forgery and tax evasion charges, has flown back to China without authorities in Kampala enforcing the arrest warrant.
 
Mr Chen Chao, 38, flew out of the country on Uganda Airlines to Nairobi, Kenya, on September 28. He stayed in the neighbouring country until October 11 when he flew to China, documents seen by this media house show.
 
Rwanda authorities issued a warrant for Mr Chao’s arrest on September 22 and it was sent to the Attorney General’s Chambers in Kampala, before being forwarded to the International Police (Interpol) office in Kampala. Sources say Mr Chao attended a police facility for several days before he was released. It is not clear why he was released despite a warrant for his arrest being outstanding and known to Ugandan authorities.
 
The head of Interpol Uganda Grace Akullo ordered for Mr Chao to be rearrested while inquiries continued but police officers said they were unable to trace him. Police spokesman Fred Enanga has been contacted for comment.
 
The court case in Rwanda arose from a contract worth more than $12 million King Faisal Hospital Limited issued to Power China International to build an out-patient department section at its facility in the capital, Kigali. Power China International farmed out the contract to its subsidiary, Power China Guizhou Engineering, which also farmed it down to Mr Chao’s Entec Technology Company Limited, which is registered in Kenya.
 
The company did not complete the work satisfactorily and reportedly abandoned the work site. Power China Guizhou Engineering stepped in to salvage the project and tried to cash in a warranty bond worth $610,322 that Entec Technology had offered it to guarantee its execution of the contract. However, Sidian Bank of Kenya disowned the guarantee and Rwandan authorities now believe that the bond was probably forged.
 
Parallel investigations by Rwanda Revenue Authority uncovered an unpaid tax bill of Rwf21,840,259 (equivalent to about Ush67 million). Rwandan prosecutors unveiled an indictment against Mr Chao on April 26, 2023, on which the warrant of arrest was based. If convicted Mr Chao faces between five and seven years in jail and a fine.
 
Rwanda case
Rwandan authorities charged him with tax evasion, forgery, falsification and use of forged documents in Nyarugenge Intermediate Court.
On September 22, 2023, Rwanda Prosecutor General Aimable Havugiyaremye wrote to the Attorney General of Uganda seeking the extradition of arrest Mr Chao and transfer him back to Rwanda to stand trial.
 
“The purpose of this request is to seek your assistance in arresting Mr Chen Chao and assisting his transfer to the Rwandan authorities to stand trial for the crimes he committed within the Rwandan territory,” Mr Havugiyaremye's letter reads in part.
 
However, the spokesman of the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Mr Simon Peter Jamba said the Attorney General has never received that said letter.
 
“She (officer in charge of in-coming communication at the Attorney General’s office) has told me she hasn’t seen it in our records. She checked the months of September and October and [there is] no trace,” Mr Jamba said yesterday.
 
Rwanda, however, didn’t issue an International Police Organisation red notice, which compels member states to arrest and transfer a suspect. Kigali instead sought the extradition to be done under a treaty between Uganda and Rwanda which was signed at Katuna on February 21, 2020.
 
Uganda Police Interpol Directorate officials declined to comment on the issue officially. One senior officer told this reporter that extraditing an alleged suspect without following the International Police extradition procedures is criminal in Uganda.
 
“There are three categories of offences that a person can’t be extradited under the Interpol process and the list is written clearly. You should interest yourself in reading the third category of offences that Interpol isn’t supposed to issue a warrant for. They are on the Interpol website,” the officer said. They asked not to be named to comment about an on-going investigation.
 
The third category in which the Interpol notice may not be issued covers “offences originating from a violation of laws or regulations of an administrative nature or deriving from private disputes, unless the criminal activity is aimed at facilitating a serious crime or is suspected of being connected to organised crime.”
 
Mr Chao, who is said to enjoy close ties to government officials, is a prominent member of the Chinese business community in Uganda and the region.
 
The businessman held power of attorney for Power China Guizhou Engineering which was awarded a US$85m (UShs317b) contract for the civil works at the international specialized hospital in Lubowa.
 
The project has been mired in controversy because of the opaque manner in which Uganda taxpayers’ money was put at the disposal of its promoter, Italian businesswoman Enrica Pinetti.
 
The hospital remains unbuilt several years after it was supposed to have been completed and there has been little accountability for taxpayers’ money.
In March 2023, a whistle-blower asked the Criminal Investigations Directorate to investigate a US2.9m (UShs10.8b) payment that Power China made out of the money it received from the hospital project to a company, M/S Legrandlac Consulting and Engineering Company Limited just eight months after it was incorporated. Documents from the Uganda Registration Services Bureau indicate that Mr Chao is one of the shareholders of Legrandlac company, which received the money.