By Andrew Irumba
There is a bitter standoff at Bank of Uganda involving the Board of Governors and the bank’s legal team over whether to appeal the case BoU recently lost against tycoon Sudhir Ruparelia and others or not.
Whereas senior managers and Board of Governors are ready to appeal against the Commercial Court ruling where BoU lost a case they had filed on behalf of Crane Bank againt Sudhir, there are technocrats who argue that appealing the case would be a wastage of tax payers’ money and would increase the burden of damages, legal costs and compensation BoU would have to pay to Sudhir in case they lost the appeal.
BoU, purportedly working on behalf of Crane Bank, dragged Sudhir and others to the High Court Commercial Division, seeking to recover Shs397Bn, which Sudhir had allegedly siphoned from Crane bank before it was closed and sold to dfcu Bank.
However, last Monday Justice David Wangutusi dismissed the case, afetr ruling that Crane Bank (Under Receievrship) had no capacity to sue Sudhir and others and that the Bank’s closure by BoU was illegal.
Wangutusi stated that at the time (BOU) and Crane Bank (in receivership) sued Sudhir and his Meera Investments in January 2017, Crane Bank was a non-existing entity, having been terminated when the Central Bank sold its assets to dfcu Bank in October 2016.
The judge ruled that this rendered Crane Bank in receivership incapable of suing or being sued since there would be no assets to be claimed for. The Judge further ordered Bank of Uganda to pay Shs10Bn as the cost of the suit and compensation to Sudhir.
However, information obtained by Snoops from Bank of Uganda indicates that last Friday, the Director in charge of Legal Margret Kasule drafted the notice to appeal, in which she indicated clear grounds on which the case can be appealed and perhaps the ruling overturned.
However sources inside (BOU) narrated to us that when Kasule tabled grounds of appeal, some bosses blocked her from filing appeal, something that has since created a standoff at the Central Bank.
Our Spies reveal that when the internal clashes among BoU senior staff worsened, the Governor Professor Emmanuel Mutebile called for an emergency meeting to decide on whether to appeal or not.
Sources say the majority members who attended the meeting want BoU to appeal, while others, who are deemed to be Pro- Sudir, are advising against it.
“If Bank of Uganda fails to appeal we shall waste tax payers in compensation and BOU will also lose its integrity as the controller of all commercial Banks in Uganda,” said an insider.
However, those against the appeal argue that BoU will pay lesser money if they do not appeal, because the process of appealing itself is a risky burden with financial implications, yet the outcome cannot be guaranteed in BoU’s favour.
However, rliable sources from Bank of Uganda revealed to us that city tycoon Sudhir has vowed to expose the full details of individuals inside BoU who he personally gave money and the bank accounts it passed through should Bank of Uganda go ahead to file an appeal.
But another top boss in BOU said Sudhir can go ahead and name the individuals he gave money instead of using it as a threatening tool to stop Central Bank from appealing.
when contacted for a comment about the matter, Charity Mugumya, the BOU head communications told our Spies to send an email about the matters we want to discuss but she hasnt responded since then,
