Ugandan businessman Sudhir Ruparelia has reopened one of the country’s most contentious banking disputes in London, seeking at least €200 million ($225.3 million) in damages from Dutch banking group Rabobank and two former executives over the takeover and sale of Crane Bank.

The case, being heard at the High Court in London, centres on the 2016 collapse of Crane Bank and the subsequent transfer of selected assets and liabilities to DFCU Bank. Sudhir Ruparelia and other former Crane Bank shareholders allege that the bank was taken over and transferred through an unlawful process that caused them significant losses.

Ruparelia challenges Crane Bank valuation

Crane Bank, founded by Sudhir Ruparelia and grown out of Crane Forex Bureau, which he started in 1989, was placed under Bank of Uganda statutory management in October 2016. In January 2017, the central bank placed it into receivership and transferred its assets and liabilities to DFCU.

Sudhir Ruparelia’s claim challenges the circumstances surrounding the transaction, including the valuation of Crane Bank and the involvement of parties connected to DFCU. Two former Rabobank executives, Albert Jonkergouw and Willem Cramer, are among the defendants.

The claimants allege that the executives were involved in approving the transaction despite concerns raised about the deal. Rabobank’s investment arm, Rabo Partnerships, was previously among the defendants in the wider English proceedings.

$27.5 million payment becomes key issue

A central allegation concerns a $27.5 million payment linked to the sale of a portfolio of Crane Bank loans. Ruparelia’s side alleges that the payment was intended for the central bank but was not properly recorded and characterises the transaction as part of a broader corrupt arrangement.

The defendants dispute the allegations. DFCU has maintained that the transaction was lawful and that Crane Bank was seriously undercapitalised when the Bank of Uganda intervened.

A previous court ruling also noted that a PwC forensic report commissioned by the Bank of Uganda contained serious findings concerning Crane Bank’s management, although the current proceedings are concerned with the claims brought by Ruparelia and other claimants.

London court battle revives decade-old banking dispute

The legal fight has been running for years. In 2022, the English High Court dismissed the claim on jurisdictional grounds, but the Court of Appeal reinstated the case in 2023, allowing the dispute to proceed.

The latest proceedings are taking place against the backdrop of earlier scrutiny of Crane Bank’s collapse in Uganda, including a parliamentary inquiry that criticised aspects of the transaction.

For Sudhir Ruparelia, the London case represents a renewed attempt to recover losses he attributes to the circumstances surrounding the loss of Crane Bank.

For Rabobank, DFCU and the other defendants, the proceedings provide an opportunity to contest the allegations. The court will ultimately determine whether the evidence establishes liability and whether Ruparelia and the other claimants are entitled to the damages they seek.