Kampala, Uganda — on any given weekend, Kampala’s nightlife buzzes with glamour and extravagance. Lavish receipts flood social media from upscale spots from the streets of Kololo, Kansanga, Luthuli in Bugolobi etc. etc. showing patrons spending millions of shillings in a single night.

But behind the glitz lies a more troubling narrative, if Uganda’s high-end bars are increasingly being used as conduits for money laundering.

Insights from financial crime experts suggest that many of these bars, while appearing to thrive on luxury sales, may actually be laundering proceeds from illicit activities, including drug trafficking, fraud, and corruption.

“Bars are classic cash-heavy businesses, and that makes them prime targets for money laundering,” Kyakulaga Ayub a financial analyst familiar with the industry told Nexus Media.

“It’s easy to mix illegal money with legitimate cash earnings, making it harder to trace.” He said.

In a typical scheme, a bar owner Muhumuza (not his names) may legitimately earn UGX 50 million in sales on a busy night, However, the owner might report UGX 80 million adding UGX 30 million of “dirty” money to the books.

The bank, accustomed to high volumes from such businesses, sees nothing suspicious and processes the deposit without question.

Kyakulaga wondered if  this practice is partly responsible for the sudden appearance of luxury cars on Kampala’s roads and the mushrooming of high-end homes in suburbs like Kyanja, Kisaasi, and Najjera.

“Many of these bars rise quickly, then disappear just as fast,” said an industry insider who asked not to be named. “When the laundering relationship ends or authorities begin to close in, the business shuts down overnight.”

Despite the passage of the Anti-Money Laundering Act in 2013, and the establishment of the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA), Uganda’s enforcement remains limited.

To date, only one successful prosecution of Uganda Vs Serwamba David Musoke and 6 has been recorded under the law.

“Corruption and protection of perpetrators by powerful individuals continue to undermine enforcement efforts,” said Zawedde Musoke a legal expert on financial crime.

For now, as the music plays and bottles pop across Kampala, the city’s nightlife remains a seductive front for some of the country’s most sophisticated financial crimes.