The Uganda Revenue Authority’ (URA) continued operations with a revenue and customs framework involving Crawford Capital Ltd, a South Sudan-linked company sanctioned by the United States over allegations of diverting public resources and foreign assistance has raised a big concern among the certified business stakeholders.
On May 12, 2026, the United States announced sanctions against Crawford Capital Ltd, accusing the company of involvement in schemes through which public resources and foreign assistance intended for South Sudanese citizens were diverted. “The transitional government of South Sudan has, for years, impeded implementation of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS), signed during President Trump’s first term, leaving the country on the brink of a return to all-out war. Numerous well-respected investigative bodies have documented how corrupt officials and entities, including Crawford Capital, Ltd., have siphoned money from South Sudan’s treasury and stolen foreign assistance funds intended to support the South Sudanese people,” the US memo of targeted Visa restrictions for individuals reads in part. The U.S. State Department spokesperson Thomas Pigott cited investigations by independent organizations that it said documented the diversion of state resources by officials and associated commercial entities while much of South Sudan’s population continued to face severe economic and humanitarian hardship.
The measures suggest Washington is increasingly treating alleged corruption not simply as a governance issue but as a factor contributing directly to political instability and armed conflict. By targeting a private company (Crawford Capital Ltd) alongside government officials, the United States appears to be widening its focus beyond political actors to financial and commercial networks it believes sustain the country’s political elite.
Crawford Capital Ltd is a UK registered company said to belong to some top echelons within the government of South Sudan and it manages revenue collections through an e-Permit charge on imports. It collects the revenue in US dollars before a tax assessment is issued on the goods premised for South Sudan. This is currently enforced by KRA, URA and the Crawford staff deployed at all border points under the guise of SSRA staff. It should be noted that Tanzania Revenue Authority and Rwanda Revenue Authority have vehemently de-associated themselves from the activities within the scheme. Reports indicate that Crawford Capital Ltd has full operations at a Kampala Hotel with over 20 South Sudanese staff deployed to gather information on all Uganda’s exporters to South Sudan and pressure the URA to allow them to deploy in all bonded warehouses and factories. In one of the correspondences, this publication has accessed, the Commissioner General SSRA William Anyuon Kuot on December 9, 2025 wrote and notified the Commissioner General of URA, John Rujoki Musinguzi about the nominations and presence of SSRA staff in Uganda to do the oversight and coordination of the presentation. Some of the nominated officers listed in the letter include Akech Tong Malek, Garang Maker Thiong (executive officer from Crawford Capital Ltd), Wani Joseph, Jok Riak, Abraham Mapor, James Moris Sokiri, Marko Makur, George Iwa, Ding Majur, Guma Peter Majok, Agany Santino, Panom Lam, Joseph Moteer Manyuat, Dinna Chol Thon among other officers.
It should be noted however that the warning sounded by Washington against the Sudanese individuals linked to Crawford Capital Ltd indicates that the action formed part of broader measures against the entities it accused of undermining South Sudan’s 2018 peace agreement, fuelling corruption and contributing to instability. The U.S. warning adds a significant compliance concern for organisations that continue to transact with Crawford Capital following its designation. The documents obtained by this publication show that Crawford has been integrated into South Sudan’s digital revenue ecosystem, a system that has an operational connection with Uganda Revenue Authority. The said operations are believed to have started after the memorandum issued by the Commissioner General of the South Sudan Revenue Authority (SSRA) on March 18, 2024, directing Crawford Capital and other service providers to integrate their systems into one SSRA digital ecosystem.
The memorandum specifically refers to contracts and memoranda of understanding between the companies and SSRA, the Office of the President, the Ministry of Finance and Planning, the Ministry of Trade and Industries and the Uganda Revenue Authority.
The SSRA Commissioner General directed the service providers to interface and integrate within one digital ecosystem to give the South Sudan Revenue Authority visibility and control over a single Application Programming Interface (API).
The document does not, by itself, establish that URA directly contracted Crawford Capital or that URA has paid the company. Rather, it establishes that URA is expressly referenced in the wider contractual and memorandum framework surrounding the integration of the service providers into South Sudan’s revenue ecosystem.
A separate February 23, 2026 document provides further evidence of the close digital and operational relationship between SSRA and URA.
In the letter, the SSRA Kampala Liaison Office formally requested official viewing rights to URA’s ASYCUDA system for selected SSRA customs officials based in Kampala and Gulu.
The request was linked to efforts to strengthen monitoring and enforcement of the e-permit system for goods entering South Sudan through the Kenya-Uganda and Uganda-South Sudan corridors.
SSRA said access to the URA system would enable its officials to track and validate permits, monitor customs compliance, coordinate enforcement operations with URA and identify discrepancies in real time. The document therefore demonstrates that SSRA and URA have an active information-sharing and customs cooperation arrangement involving revenue and trade data.
URA RAISES CONCERN
On August 12, 2026, The URA Commissioner General wrote to the Commissioner General SSRA raising concern regarding the consignments intending to change destination from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to South Sudan and on measures to further enforce the e-Permit and protect the integrity of transit cargo. “……Recent reference is made to two correspondences from SSRA dated July 21, 2026 and another received on August 7, 2026. The letters requested URA to facilitate transit clearances of consignments of essential foodstuffs currently at Malaba Border and to effect the change of country of destination from the DRC to South Sudan. We note with concern that under the EAC single Customs territory framework permission to change destination should only be undertaken at the first port of entry….” the URA Commissioner General’s letter reads partly. He raises concern that changing the country of destination for the transit cargo may lead to the abuse of transit facilities, increased risk of transit diversion and can cause operational / border management challenges. The URA Commissioner General goes further to encourage that for the smooth operation, there is need to harmonise on the change of country of destination for the goods already in transit, strengthen information exchange and verification mechanisms to prevent abuse of the transit regime as well as agreeing on joint measures to further enforce the e-Permit and protect the integrity of transit cargo.
CAUTION TO URA
Relatedly, another document dated June 2, 2026 shows that SSRA has established a continuing regional presence in Uganda.
In a letter to South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the SSRA Commissioner General requested diplomatic passports for officials appointed to represent the authority in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
However, the U.S action has consequently put Crawford’s continued operations under a different level of scrutiny, particularly in neighbouring countries where its systems or business relationships intersect with government revenue and customs operations.
The documentary trail does not establish that URA has violated U.S sanctions or that it has entered into a prohibited transaction with Crawford Capital. It does, however, show that Uganda’s revenue authority remains part of a regional customs and digital-revenue architecture in which Crawford Capital is a service provider on the South Sudan side.
For Uganda, the issue could become increasingly significant as the two countries deepen cross-border customs integration and as SSRA maintains a permanent liaison presence in Kampala.
What began as a South Sudan corruption and sanctions matter could therefore increasingly become a regional compliance issue, placing Uganda’s revenue and customs authorities under scrutiny over their continued interaction with systems and entities connected to a company now targeted by Washington.