Sudhir Ruparelia Slams BoU’s Shs 219bn Claim as Unfounded, Cites Limited Liability and Full Central Bank Control Post-2016 Takeover

What the report says

Ugandan businessman and Ruparelia Group chairman Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia has rejected the Bank of Uganda’s claim that Crane Bank’s former shareholders owe Shs 219.4 billion after the central bank’s intervention in the collapsed lender. The dispute was discussed before Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE), where Bank of Uganda Governor Michael Atingi-Ego said the amount remained on the central bank’s books as of June 30, 2025 and was linked to liquidity support and later recoveries tied to the 2017 transfer of Crane Bank’s assets and liabilities to dfcu Bank.

According to Watchdog Uganda, Ruparelia argued in written submissions that shareholders cannot be made liable for expenses incurred after Bank of Uganda took control of Crane Bank on October 20, 2016. He said the regulator suspended the board, installed a statutory manager and excluded the owners from decisions, meaning they had no access to management records or oversight of what followed. He also said the transaction that moved Crane Bank’s assets and liabilities was completed without the former owners’ involvement.

Ruparelia further relied on the principle of limited liability, arguing that any remaining obligations belong to the company, not its shareholders. The article says he also pointed to previous court defeats for Bank of Uganda in related litigation. He told MPs he would return to assist the committee in December and asked to review the Auditor General’s report before doing so.

The hearing adds to a long-running dispute over the 2016–17 takeover of one of Uganda’s largest indigenous banks. The matter remains sensitive because it touches on central bank intervention, shareholder responsibility and the accounting of funds used during statutory management.