Sudhir Ruparelia seeks $225 million in Crane Bank trial

Ugandan billionaire Sudhir Ruparelia has opened a fresh legal front against Rabobank over the long running dispute surrounding the collapse and sale of Crane Bank, seeking about UGX820 billion ($225 million) in compensation, according to PML Daily.

The claim targets Rabo Partnerships B.V., a Rabobank-linked entity that was among the defendants in the legal proceedings brought by Ruparelia and other former Crane Bank shareholders over the bank’s takeover and subsequent sale to dfcu Bank.

The latest move adds a new chapter to a legal battle that has stretched across Uganda and the United Kingdom since Bank of Uganda took control of Crane Bank in October 2016 and later placed it under receivership. The bank’s assets and liabilities were subsequently transferred to dfcu Bank.

Ruparelia, who founded Crane Bank and was its majority shareholder, has consistently challenged the circumstances surrounding the bank’s takeover and sale.

In the UK case, Crane Bank and Ruparelia were joined by other former shareholders in suing dfcu Bank, its holding company, former executives and several former investors, including Rabo Partnerships, alleging that Crane Bank was sold at a significant undervalue and that the process involved wrongdoing. The defendants have disputed those allegations.

The litigation has continued through the UK courts. In March 2026, the High Court in London issued a judgment in the case involving Crane Bank, Ruparelia and other claimants against dfcu and the other defendants.

A separate recent UK Supreme Court development also allowed the approximately £170 million ($225 million) claim brought by Crane Bank shareholders to proceed, after attempts by dfcu and related parties to block the case were dismissed. The claim is equivalent to roughly UGX825.8 billion, close to the UGX820 billion figure cited in the latest report.

The dispute traces back to Bank of Uganda’s intervention in Crane Bank in 2016. The central bank took over management of the lender before placing it under receivership in January 2017. Dfcu subsequently acquired Crane Bank’s assets and assumed its liabilities.

The Ugandan courts have also previously ruled in Ruparelia’s favour in related proceedings. In 2019, Uganda’s Commercial Court dismissed a case brought against Ruparelia and Meera Investments after finding that Crane Bank, following the transfer of its assets, lacked the legal standing to pursue the claim.

The new compensation claim does not represent a court award. It is a claim being pursued by Ruparelia and other Crane Bank shareholders, and the allegations remain subject to the ongoing legal process.

For Ruparelia, the latest action keeps the Crane Bank dispute active nearly a decade after the central bank first intervened in the lender. The outcome could determine whether the former shareholders recover compensation from the institutions they accuse of contributing to Crane Bank’s disputed takeover and sale.