London, UK – In a significant procedural ruling, dfcu Bank has scored a legal victory in the English High Court in its ongoing case with Crane Bank Limited (CBL) and associated parties.
The court dismissed Crane Bank’s attempt to exclude key forensic audit reports prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd (PwC), commissioned by the Bank of Uganda during the takeover of Crane Bank in 2016.
Crane Bank’s legal team had argued that PwC Uganda was not affiliated with the global PwC network and that its reports were inadmissible to establish primary facts. However, Justice Paul Stanley rejected both claims, ruling that the reports—spanning over 150 pages and covering a wide timeframe, including activities dating back to the early 2000s—contained serious findings that could not be ignored.
Among the concerns raised in the PwC reports were: the creation of a deliberately false balance sheet, concealment of shareholder identities, improper diversion of bank funds, and favourable insider transactions (“sweetheart deals”).
The judge emphasized that, if proven, these findings reflected mismanagement practices incompatible with any responsible regulatory expectations, particularly for a strategically important financial institution.
In a separate development, the Court also ordered Sudhir Ruparelia, the former owner of Crane Bank, to hand over his mobile phone for expert forensic examination to determine whether it holds any potentially relevant material. Additionally, Sheena Ruparelia was directed to disclose information from her personal email account.
dfcu has consistently asserted that the claims brought against it are baseless and maintains that it acted lawfully and transparently throughout the acquisition process of Crane Bank. The bank reaffirmed its commitment to a robust legal defence while upholding international standards of ethics and corporate governance.
