HAM VS DTB CASE: DTB Admits To Committing Illegalities, Ham Files And Awaits Judgement On Admissions In Their Submissions

Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) had in advance admitted committing illegalities at excessive courtroom on court facts, the bank has moreover at splendid courtroom admitted failure of the Court of Appeal to address the large factor of illegality for this reason Ham has implemented and awaits judgments on depend of the Bank’s admissions.

Brief History

Ham Enterprises (U) Limited (The enterprise) and Diamond Trust Bank (The Bank) had a 10 Year long time Banking courting in which Ham Enterprises (U) Limited as the client made big transactions on its accounts with the financial institution equally extending Loan centers to the agency and the organisation might directly repay those loans till an extremely good balance of USD 10,000,000 (United States Dollar – Ten Million only) which the corporation claims turned into no longer lowering in spite of having paid massive amounts of cash towards mortgage clearance through the years.

The organization therefore decided to carry out a figurative and criminal Audit on all its bills through which Audit record from the employer’s money owed and Loan statements availed from the Bank information found out that every one loans had been already paid to zero stability and as a substitute the Bank had excessively unlawfully debited Ugx – 34bn and USD 23m from the company’s accounts over that unfold time frame.

The criminal audit moreover found out that Diamond Trust Bank turned into carrying out illegal transactions in a bid to avoid paying authorities taxes contrary to the laws of Uganda especially as guided by means of the Financial Institution Act and equally opposite to the Bank of Uganda patron purchaser safety guidelines.

On seventeenth Jan 2020, Ham Enterprises (U) Limited hence filed a healthy at the economic court docket for recovery of the excessive cash unlawfully debited from its money owed, similarly bringing these acts of illegalities committed by the Diamond Trust Bank to the courtroom’s attention.

On seventh October 2020 judgement turned into entered against the Bank based totally on fact that the Bank on court docket report admitted to committing illegalities by means of wearing out monetary group enterprise in Uganda with out a license as required by means of section 117 of the Financial Institution Act, and DTB Uganda appearing as DTB Kenya Agent with out approval in contravention of Regulation 5 Of The Financial Institutions (Agent Banking) Regulations 2017 and Section 126 (3) of the Financial Institutions Act in addition to the relevant legal guidelines of Kenya making the bank to emerge as a predominant offender as supplied for underneath phase 19 of the Financial Institutions Act having taken part in and facilitated the commission of an offence. There changed into also no counter declare through Diamond Trust Bank in regard to any amazing unpaid loans by way of Ham Enterprises (U) Limited to the Bank. The judgment similarly directed the bank of Uganda to protect the Ugandan economic system from unlawful hemorrhages and uncontrolled flows of economic assets and to make sure that monetary institutional business in Uganda is operated in the letter of the regulation to protect the nascent banking enterprise industry in Uganda

On 20th October 2020, The bank appealed in opposition to the judgement of the industrial court on grounds that there has been no illegality dedicated opposite to the Financial Institution Act

On the fifth May 2021 a panel of three Honorable Judges headed by means of Hon. Justice Richard Butera, Hon. Justice Kenneth Kakuru and Hon. Justice Christopher Madrama ruled in desire of the Diamond Trust Bank, putting apart the High Court judgment without addressing the problem of illegality despite it being the big ground of appeal as filed by Diamond Trust Bank. The Court of Appeal concluded by using ordering a retrial at the excessive court at the same time as except for the amended plaint that had raised the factor of law of illegality dedicated by Diamond Trust Bank thereby selling and protective the illegalities as committed through the financial institution contrary to the Financial Institutions Act.

On the tenth June 2021 Ham Enterprises (U) Limited appealed against the court docket of enchantment selection on the best court

On twelfth November 2021, the perfect courtroom allowed the bank’s request to focus on submissions on grounds not contained of their memorandum of attraction on a count number now not challenge of appeal and parties had been requested to post at the same within 13 days. Diamond Trust Bank of their Submissions admitted that the Court of Appeal failed to cope with the Substantial point of illegality upon which judgement become rightfully entered on the excessive court specifically pointing out in their submissions that: “The discovered Justices have been entitled to first cope with the grounds concerning the technique followed by means of the trial Judge in placing out the defendants’ pleadings and granting the impugned orders earlier than handling the alternative grounds” and on 23 November 2021, Ham implemented and awaits judgement at the admissions by using the Bank.

Ham’s Notice of Motion (Application) and Affidavit in Support of the Motion