Central Bank loses sh397b case against Sudhir

CENTRAL BANK       CRANE BANK     RUPARELIA

The Commercial Court has dismissed with costs a case that Bank of Uganda (BoU) had filed against businessman Sudhir Ruparelia, seeking to recover sh397b from him.

Today, the head of the court, Justice David Wangutusi dismissed the case on grounds that Crane Bank Limited (in receivership) has no legal basis to sue.

In 2017, BoU sued Sudhir, accusing him of swindling sh397b out of the financial institution in fraudulent transactions and land title transfers.

 

BoU took over the management of Crane Bank in November 2017, putting it under receivership after establishing that it was over-leveraged. 

According to BoU, Crane Bank liabilities exceeded it's assets, rendering it insolvent and hence posed a systemic risk to the banking industry. 

On January 27, 2017 DFCU acquired Crane Bank assets and liabilities following the conclusion of the purchase and assumption agreements with BoU. 

 
Crane Bank was the fourth-largest commercial bank in Uganda licensed and supervised by BoU as at the end of 2015. It started operating in August 1995 offering corporate and retail services. The bank focused on micro, small and medium-sized businesses.

In September 2012, the bank acquired assets and some liabilities of the National Bank of Commerce, indigenous financial service providers in Uganda that had lost it's banking license.