By Spy Uganda
Kampala: The self-proclaimed richest man in South Sudan, Lawrence Lual Malong Yor Junior has been sentenced to 6 years in prison in Uganda over a gold scam worth millions of dollars.
The controversial businessman, who is commonly known as “Young Tycoon” was arrested by the Ugandan security operatives in his Hotel on November 11, 2018, over the widespread video in which Lawrence Lual was recorded playing with a lot of cash money claiming that he was blessed by “his Jesus Christ” with billions of dollars.
Lawrence appeared before Court all the way from remand at Luzira Prison alongside two other people including Congolese Mike Lota and Ugandan lawyer Gavana Zhikusoka.
“Ugandan High Court Anti-Corruption Division sentences South Sudanese “tycoon” Lawrence Malong, Congolese Mike Lota and Ugandan lawyer Gavana Zhikusoka over $1m gold scam”, the statement reads.
“The trio defrauded Ethiopians. Malong gets 6 years, Lota 4 years and Zhikusooka 5 years”, it added.
The young tycoon branded himself as the richest South Sudanese businessman but up to now his sources of wealth were never genuinely verified.
Genesis Of This Case
In March 2019, Buganda Road magistrate’s court was told that Malong, 30, and two others including Thaddeus Zikusooka, a Ugandan lawyer and Mike Okitalunyi Lota, a Congolese broker defrauded an Ethiopian businessman in a bogus gold deal.
It is alleged that the trio duped South African based businessman that they wanted to sell him gold at $23,000 per kilogram.
Malong would later offer himself as a gold trader with a licence and that the group would sell the businessman 150 kilograms of gold, prompting the latter to give them money.
In the end, the deal turned out to be fake because the trio took the money and never delivered the promised gold.
The prosecution alleges that between February 2017 and December 2018 at different places in Kampala, the trio obtained $1.9 million from businessman Wegnew Desire purporting to be selling him 150kg of gold whereas not.
Buganda Road magistrate, Joan Ketty Acaa remanded the trio to Luzira prison until yesterday when they appeared back in Court for sentencing.
The above came after a flamboyant tycoon was in 2018 arrested by the Uganda Internal Security OrganizationI (ISO) from Milano Hotel in Kabalagala before detaining him for a number of days on unknown charges.
