UMEAS 2023 Surpasses Previous Participation Records

 

DFCU loses its appeal against Crane Bank in yet another appeal court in London. In a decision issued on July 26, 2023, by Sir Julian Flaux, Chancellor of the High Court, and Lord Justice Popplewell, the Court upheld Crane Bank's appeal on the grounds that there are significant questions to be resolved regarding whether some or all of the appellant's claims fall under the commercial activity exception and/or the public policy exception.

"In the current case, the BoU and its officials are accused of abusing their public office and duties in a variety of ways, but the main charge is that all such actions were taken with the corrupt intent of obtaining an unfair advantage in the form of significant financial inducements from a third-party purchaser of CBL or its assets, in the event of DFCU Bank." I think it is likely that DFCU Bank cannot rely on foreign acts of state governance because of its suspected involvement in undermining the BOU.

"I would, therefore, allow the appeal on the basis of the Public Policy Exception," said Lord Justice Popplewell and Sir Julian Flaux, Chancellor of the Court of Appeal from England's High Court of Justice Business and Property Courts.

Sudhir Ruparelia and seven other petitioners claim that DFCU Bank and its shareholders acquired Crane Bank Limited (CBL) via the use of Bank of Uganda employees in a sophisticated corruption scheme.

 Additionally, the court suggested that Bank of Uganda employees engaged in the transaction be charged with corruption.

The appellants, the owners of Crane Bank, were granted the following instructions by the court, in brief:

The outcome follows a lower court ruling in which Lord Pelling QC, sitting in London and presided over by the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, exonerated both DFCU and BoU of wrongdoing in a $211 million dispute on October 19, 2022.

In the meanwhile, it's important to note that billionaire Sudhir Ruparelia, the owner of the insolvent Crane Bank, has won yet another big success after defeating BoU in the Supreme Court over the sale of his bank in July 2022.

The central bank shut down Crane Bank in October 2016 on the grounds that it lacked sufficient capital. The 2022 ruling was the culmination of a running battle between the central bank and Sudhir for over four years. The Supreme Court ruled that Sudhir should retain ownership of Crane Bank and ordered BoU to pay all expenses, which are estimated to total more than UGX 200 billion.