The tycoon declined to disclose the date he quit or the reasons behind his exit.
Bank baron Rasik Kantaria, the Kenyan tycoon who is Crane Bank’s second largest shareholder (47.32%), secretly resigned from the bank’s board, according to the Daily Nation.
Mr Kantaria owns his Crane Bank stake through White Sapphire Ltd, and has served on the Ugandan bank’s board for more than a decade. He is the current chairman of Prime Bank (Kenya) whose total assets are valued at US$570 million.
He has also been a long-serving member of the Crane Bank board.
Copies of the Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association obtained from the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (USRB) have for long refused to reveal the real ownership of the troubled Crane Bank’s 47.33 per cent shares.
Crane Bank, currently under statutory management by the Bank of Uganda, is controlled by Ugandan tycoon Sudhir Ruparelia, who has a 48.67% stake, held directly and through his wife Jyotsna, daughter Sheena and son Rajiv.
Just like Sudhir, Kantaria also has investments in real estate, manufacturing and tourism. Through Kenyan based sources, Kantaria was not available to comment on the operations of Crane Bank.
His M/s White Sapphire is domiciled in Mauritius. There is no further disclosure on what this company does and who owns it.
Incorporated in November 2011, the Mauritius Central and Business Registration Integrated System, White Sapphire carries out global business. The registered address for White Sapphire, Associated Consultants LTD, is linked to another 253 businesses in Mauritius.
Mr Kantaria’s stake is likely to be diluted given that the Ugandan regulators have announced the search for deep-pocketed investors to rescue Crane Bank.
“We are seeking new investors who can boost the capital base of Crane,” said BoU governor Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile in a statement.
