Sudhir Ruparelia Takes Rabobank to London Court over  Shs 820 Billion Bank Dispute

Ugandan business magnate Sudhir Ruparelia has escalated the long-running Crane Bank legal battle to a London court, seeking at least €200 million (approximately Shs 820 billion) in damages over the lender's alleged unlawful sale.

Mr. Ruparelia and his co-claimants filed the high-stakes lawsuit in the United Kingdom, naming Rabobank and two of its former senior bankers—Albert Jonkergouw and Willem Cramer—as defendants.

Background of the Takeover:

Crane Bank, which Mr. Ruparelia founded in the 1990s, was placed under statutory management by the Bank of Uganda in October 2016 due to reported financial difficulties. In January 2017, the central bank sold Crane Bank's assets and liabilities to dfcu Bank.

dfcu Bank is indirectly owned by a consortium that includes:

• Rabo Partnerships (a subsidiary of Rabobank)

• FMO (the Dutch development bank)

• Norfund (Norway’s development investor)

FMO is not listed as a defendant in the London proceedings.

Core Allegations:

In an interview with the Dutch financial daily Het Financieele Dagblad, Mr. Ruparelia characterized the 2017 takeover as a corrupt scheme engineered by the Bank of Uganda to strip him of his life’s work.

The London claim centers on several key accusations:

• Ignored Warning Signs: The claimants allege that Rabo Partnerships and former Rabobank board members Albert Jonkergouw and Willem Cramer approved the transaction despite obvious red flags.

• Alleged Bribery: The suit highlights a late-2016 email indicating that $27.5 million from selling a Crane Bank loan portfolio was directed to the central bank without proper recording.

• Below-Market Valuation: The lawsuit contends that dfcu Bank acquired Crane Bank without an independent valuation after receiving pre-administration overtures from the Bank of Uganda.

• Historical Scrutiny: Mr. Ruparelia’s legal team points to a 2019 report by Uganda’s Parliamentary Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE), which criticized the sale and faulted the central bank for legal breaches. They also reference the U.S. conviction of Hong Kong intermediary Patrick Ho for bribing a former Ugandan foreign minister in connection with a prospective Chinese conglomerate bid for the bank.

Legal Representation and Next Steps

The London court hearings are set to commence on Monday.

• Claimants: Represented by Greenberg Traurig.

• dfcu Bank: Represented by Freshfields.

• Arise (dfcu shareholder): Represented by A&O Shearman.

• Rabobank: Represented by Milbank.

Defense lawyers for Mr. Jonkergouw, Mr. Cramer, the Bank of Uganda, and FMO have declined to comment while the matter is sub judice. The London lawsuit runs parallel to a prolonged series of domestic legal battles in Uganda over the central bank's handling of the takeover.