In yet another appeal case in London court, DFCU loses its appeal against Crane Bank. The Court granted Crane Bank's appeal on the grounds that there are serious issues to be tried as to whether part of all of the appellant's claims fall within the commercial activity exception and/or the Public Policy Exception in a judgment delivered on July 26, 2023, by Sir Julian Flaux, Chancellor of the High Court, and Lord Justice Popplewell.

 

"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 gist of the allegation is that all such matters were done for the corrupt purpose of obtaining undue advantage in the form of huge financial inducements from a third-party purchaser of CBL or its assets, in the event of DFCU Bank." Because of its alleged participation in compromising the BOU, I believe it is conceivable that DFCU Bank cannot depend on foreign acts of state rule.

"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.

 

According to Sudhir Ruparelia and seven other petitioners, DFCU Bank and its stockholders purchased Crane Bank Limited (CBL) in a well-crafted corruption scheme involving Bank of Uganda officials. The Court also recommended that Bank of Uganda officials involved in the transaction face corruption charges.

 

In summary, the Court made the following orders in favor of the appellants, the Crane Bank proprietors:

The result follows on the heels of a lower court decision in which a High Court of Justice of England and Wales judge, Lord Pelling QC, sitting in London, cleared both DFCU and BoU of wrongdoing in a $211 million dispute on October 19, 2022.

Meanwhile, it's worth mentioning that this is yet another significant victory for billionaire Sudhir Ruparelia, the owner of the bankrupt Crane Bank, who overcame BoU in the Supreme Court over the sale of his bank in July 2022.

Crane Bank was closed down by the central bank in October 2016, stating it was undercapitalized. The 2022 ruling was the culmination of a running battle between the central bank and Sudhir for over four years. The Supreme Court declared that Crane Bank should be returned to Sudhir and ordered BoU to pay all fees, believed to be more than UGX 200 billion.