Business mogul Sudhir Ruparhelia and the entire Board of Directors of Crane Bank Ltd have been ordered out of the affairs of their own business – by the Central Bank of Uganda.
A statement signed by Bank of Uganda Governor Tumusiime Mutebile said: “This action has been taken upon a determination by Bank of Uganda that Crane Bank Limited is a significantly undercapitalised institution as defined by law, poses a systemic risk to the stability of the financial system and that continuation of Crane Bank’s activities in its current form is detrimental to the interests of its depositors.”
The intervention of the central bank marks a dangerous turn in the affairs of Sudhir’s business empire that spans from banking, hotel and hospitality, education. Some like Kampala Central MP Muhammad Nsereko, the potential collapse of Crane Bank will have a spiraling effect on the economy by denting the confidence of investors in the financial sector and the economy generally.
Bank of Uganda further reveals that they have appointed a statutory manager to run the affairs of Crane Bank.
Although the central bank says Crane Bank will remain open to the general public, in actual sense, very few people if any will make deposits. The prime job of appointed manager, will be to investigate the operations of the previous management.
