Imperial Bank depositors, who lost their money when the lender collapsed more than six years ago, will have to wait a little longer to get their dues.
This is after a court in Mombasa stopped an order issued earlier this month by the Central Bank of Kenya(CBK) to the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation(KDIC) for the liquidation of Imperial Bank.
Justice John Onyiengo, sitting in Mombasa, has temporarily stopped the liquidation of collapsed Imperial Bank after billionaire businessman Ashok Doshi and his wife Amit sued over their KSh1 billion deposit.
The Mombasa-based tycoon and his wife sued the lender and CBK in a bid to recover their deposits.
Through lawyer Willis Oluga, the Doshis argue that on July 15, 2016, three months after the bank was placed under receivership, the lender consented to pay them their dues after they sued it.
“The consent is still binding to date and has never been reviewed, varied or set aside,” said lawyer Oluga.
Imperial Bank financial status
The lender was placed under receivership on October 13, 2015, after CBK learnt of massive frauds committed by the managers or administrators through illegal transactions, which milked the bank of KSh34 billion.
A forensic audit report that was ordered by the regulatory is yet to be made public.
According to CBK, Kenya Commercial Bank acquired some Imperial Bank assets worth KSh3.2 billion ($28.37 million) and took responsibility for liabilities of a similar amount.
