This is not a mafia state.
A week after Bank of Uganda took management control of Crane Bank Ltd. because it lacked sufficient capital and posed a systemic risk to the financial system, Uganda’s oldest political party Democratic Party has asked for a deep inquiry into the matter.
According to DP publicity secretary Kakande Kenneth Paul, the party formed in 1952 believes that the takeover shouldn’t merely be looked at on the face of the sole reason for the action put forward by the Bank of Uganda as being under capitalised but as an insider job.
This is the second bank, after Imperial Bank Uganda, which has since been sold, to be put under central bank in one year.
“The Party is convinced that there must be thorough investigations into what particularly caused the collapsing of the third ranked bank in the country,” Mr. Kakande said.
“There is an insider job to the issue that the Bank which has been making huge profits is collapsing.
“This bank is very critical in our economy and the security of many Ugandans who have accounts in this bank in effect is too important.
“The fact that one of the proprietors Mr. Sudhir Ruparelia admits that there are mafias collapsing this bank raise questions about the way the economy is being managed.
“The Bank of Uganda must come out with a report explaining how Crane Bank ends up collapsing and if there are fraudulent deals responsible for the mess should be brought to light and culprits castigated and prosecuted.
“It is unacceptable to have banks operating as conduits for fraudsters. This is not a mafia state.
Crane Bank reported a consolidated pre-tax loss of 7.353 billion shillings ($2.14 million) in 2015 compared to a 57.066 billion shillings profit in 2014, after reporting a rise in expenses and impairment losses on loans and advances.
