Following a 24th October 2023 High Court ruling that DFCU Bank had illegally transferred to itself 48 properties belonging to Meera Investments, after it took over tycoon Sudhir Ruparelia’s Crane Bank, the Lands Ministry has cancelled all the said land titles. As a result, DFCU has been asked to hand over the copies of the titles BOU handed to them.
The Crane Bank assets were acquired by DFCU Bank in January 2017 at a cost of 200 billion shillings, on grounds that it was under capitalized as declared by the regulator, BOU.
After dfcu took over the buildings that were thought to belong to Crane Bank Limited (CBL), it emerged that CBL was simply renting from Meera Investments, a real estate property development firm that provides residential and commercial construction services.
In a letter dated November 8, the Commissioner of Lands asked dfcu to hand over the titles within 7 days for rectification so that his office prepares to return them to the owner.
The High Court- Land Division Justice Tadeo Asiimwe also ordered DFCU Bank to pay Meera Investments Shs2.4 billion in damages with 8% interest per year for trespassing on property, in a ruling issued last month.
“You will recall that judgment in the above captioned suit was entered in the favour of the Plaintiff, Meera Investments Limited against DFCU Bank Limited and the Office of the Commissioner Land Registration,” DFCU was told in a letter from the Lands Commissioner.