Ugandan politicians are targeting the role of cryptocurrencies in pyramid schemes that have plagued the country in recent months.
According to a report by local newspaper PML Daily on Feb. 4, legislators are advancing a proposal to criminalize Ponzi schemes which will include coverage for the role of cryptocurrencies.
State Minister of Finance David Bahati told members of parliament the government has established a task force to explore the impact of cryptocurrencies on Uganda, in addition to global trends.
Bahati also addressed the prevalence of Ponzi schemes in the country and pushed a government initiative that would educate citizens on recognizing financial scams.
He said,
We are also discussing with the Internal Affairs Ministry to ban such schemes. The challenge is that operators of such schemes register as financial institutions but when they get on the ground, their operations are different.
Bahati also recommended against investing in cryptocurrencies due to their lack of regulation.
He continued,
We have continued to advise the public to desist from investing in cryptocurrencies since they are yet to be supervised and regulated in Uganda. We have, therefore, strongly encouraged the members of the public to do their business transactions with only licensed financial institutions.
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