DFC Bank has on several occasions interested the State to reign on a couple of media outlets claiming they were being used by city businessman Rajiv Ruparelia to malign its image.
The bank disputed all the stories published by these online outlets as ‘a scheme of spreading fake news’ engineered by detractors.
Through its lawyers Kalenga Bwanika and advocates, the establishment threatened legal suit against the person of Rajiv Ruparelia and his media allies who were mentioned in a letter.
The lawyer therefore instructed Rajiv and his ‘cohort’ to hastily apologize for malicing and spreading fake news which has since threatened the future of its banking business.
It had come to the attention of DFCU customers that the bank was facing liquidity crisis which greatly affected the operations.
Earlier, at some point, clients began complaining of inefficiency in service delivery.
Long queues, network breakdown, cash crisis all faced the Bank. But the Management came out to dismiss this information as being peddled by ‘haters.’
DFCU shot to lime light after its decision to acquire Crane Bank which formerly belonged to Sudhir Ruparelia in 2017.
At a time of selling Crane Bank, the receiver, Bank of Uganda averred the financial institution had slipped into insolvency and couldn’t be recapitalised.
Therefore, Bank of Uganda invited buyers and DFCU emerged the ‘potential candidate’ to take over the liabilities and assets of Crane Bank, a move that has since been described as hostile in a new report authored by the Auditor General John Muwanga.
Mr. Muwanga through his investigations established that DFCU takeover was a well crafted plan orchestrated by authorities in Bank of Uganda and also top shots in DFCU.
The process in which DFCU acquired Crane Bank has since been seen as a donation.
How else can one describe shs 200 billion transaction in which DFCU was asked to pay 139 billion to buy Crane Bank which had 68 branches?
The Auditor General further asserted that chances of reviving Crane Bank were not minimal as earlier said but high.
This is where he questions the interests of Bank of Uganda top administrators in sale of Crane Bank and other six commercial banks which were closed in the past.
Fake News Notion
Much as DFCU chose rubbish online media reports as fake news, it has since emerged that the Bank is propagating the former to repair its already dented image.
DFCU’s statement was triggered by the publication of its Managing Director Juma Kisaame’s statement which indicated that he had over $40 million on his account in Bank of Africa.
The leaked statement was dismissed as concocted and fake.
However, Bank of Africa issued an apology to Mr. Kisaame acknowledging the leakage of his account’s details a position that left DFCU exposed.
Whereas DFCU further denied an incident that its MD Kisaame had tendered in his resignation as reported by the media, it was later confirmed by authorities at the Bank, that Kisaame’s letter was not only trashed but tasked to explain his role in Crane Bank- DFCU deal.
On some of the shareholders wanting to leave Dfcu, the articles that the media have written are true. They are not against the bank as managers would want to the public to believe. For instance, Britain’s Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) Group is on record for wanting to exit Dfcu, and this cannot be taken to be a rumour or fake news as there is a letter to that effect.
In a letter dated June 14, 2018, Irina Grigorenko, Chief Financial Officer of CDC Group Plc said the company was looking for buyers of its shares of 9.97 per cent from within Dfcu or outside. “After a period of more than 50 years as a shareholder, we aspire to exit in a manner that disrupts business as little as possible and ensures the orderly trading of Dfcu’s stock,” adds the letter, adding that “the goal of the CDC is to identify investors who could support the Dfcu in its new phase of growth,” read part of the letter. Before the letter finally had landed in the hands of reporters, Dfcu top managers were saying it was false/fake news as stated below through their lawyers of Ligomarc Advocates:
“Dfcu Limited (‘Dfcu’) has become aware of several inaccurate and defamatory reports circulating on various media platforms purporting that it is in chaos following the alleged exit of CDC Group Plc, one of its shareholders, and the resignation of Mr. Deepak Malik, a non-executive director representing Arise BV. These alarmist rumours have been perpetrated and coordinated by certain person(s) with the malicious intent of discrediting Dfcu and its successful acquisition of some assets and assumption of some liabilities of Crane bank (in receivership).”
About the resignation of Deepak Malik, the articles were true in that personally Malik on July 5, 2018 wrote to Elly Karuhanga and Jimmy Mugerwe who hold the position of Dfcu Limited chairman and Dfcu bank limited chairman respectively, informing him of his resignation to be effected on September 21, 2018, having been appointed the CEO of Arise BV which is the majority shareholder of Dfcu bank limited with over 58 per cent. This cannot be alleged resignation because the letter confirms Malik’s resignation. Actually Deepak wrote this letter much earlier but Dfcu feared to release it but did so after a month or so.
On resignation of William Sekabembe as CEO of Dfcu bank, it was not malicious news. He did it and is waiting for the agreed upon period to elapse so as he quits. The reason why on July 24, 2018 the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Uganda approached to take over as their Managing Director even as he declined the offer later in a letter dated September 5, 2018.
All the stories which DFCU has earlier dismissed as falsehoods but turn to be true leave the bank very delicate position as the peddler of fake news.
If the above is what Dfcu Limited/Dfcu bank limited call allegations, the truth will come out in the days ahead especially when parliament embark on digging out what is in the AG’s report on defunct banks.
