12/10/2025
South Sudan Warns Banks of Crackdown Over Capital Flight
October 12, 2025, JUBA
The government of South Sudan has issued a stern warning to commercial banks, accusing them of facilitating illicit capital flight, as it gears up to implement a new national payments system aimed at enforcing compliance with financial laws.
Cabinet Affairs Minister Martin Elia Lomuro announced that the newly launched real-time payment and settlement system, introduced by the central bank, will serve as a tool to ensure accountability within the financial sector. He claimed that significant amounts of money are being illegally funneled out of South Sudan, sometimes even by plane, with the banks’ complicity.
“From today onward, with this system in place, we expect banks to adhere fully to our regulations,” Lomuro stated during a speech addressed to bankers and officials in Juba. “The exploitation of the sovereignty of the Republic of South Sudan must come to an end, and immediate measures need to be taken.”
Lomuro emphasized that this innovative technology is vital for achieving economic independence and enhancing transparency.
Modernizing the System
The Bank of South Sudan described the new platform as the country's first real-time payment system designed to modernize the financial landscape, expedite interbank transfers, and enable transactions around the clock.
Central Bank Governor Dr. Addis Ababa Othow explained that the system will help manage liquidity, bolster effective monetary policy, and protect the value of the South Sudanese pound. “This system will facilitate real-time payments 24/7,” Othow said during the launch. “It will enhance financial inclusion, especially for the rural population that has often been overlooked.”
Minister’s Concerns
However, Minister Lomuro’s address heavily focused on allegations of misconduct within the banking sector. He expressed a “personal interest” in the new system, asserting that private banks are not under sufficient control.
He accused these banks of declining to offer mortgages and business loans to South Sudanese citizens while readily providing financing to foreign individuals. “I can point to buildings and hotels owned by foreigners that received loans through some commercial banks here,” he declared. “This practice must end immediately.”
Lomuro also took aim at the power wielded by certain financial leaders, suggesting that some managing directors hold too much influence. “This is the only country where some MDs are so powerful they require national security escorts. This needs to stop,” he asserted. “We cannot allow ourselves to be intimidated by MDs and CEOs.”
He made it clear that he has the authority to summon banking leaders to appear before the cabinet, stating, “I can initiate any action that will bring you to the cabinet for questioning.”
Order to Agencies and NGOs
The Minister instructed the country’s economic security agencies, which he noted were absent from the system’s launch, to utilize the new platform to monitor money movements. “They are aware that funds are being taken out of our country. They know it,” Lomuro remarked.
Additionally, he called on international organizations and NGOs operating in South Sudan to keep their funds within the country’s banks instead of transferring them to banks in neighboring Kenya or Uganda.
The central bank affirmed that the financial sector will continue to embrace new technologies for interbank settlements. Governor Othow described the launch as a clear signal of the bank’s monetary independence and commitment to improved financial management.
South Sudan’s economy remains largely reliant on oil revenues and is grappling with hyperinflation, conflict, and corruption. Public confidence in the banking system is already shaky, with many businesses and wealthy individuals opting to hold assets in U.S. dollars or stash them in banks across Kenya and Uganda.
