Billionaire Stops Payment of Imperial Bank Customers

The Mombasa High Court on Wednesday stopped the payment of Imperial Bank depositors following a case filed by a billionaire banking with the troubled institution.

Businessman Ashok Doshi, who had reportedly stashed Sh1 Billion in US dollars and Kenyan currency as of October 2015, moved to court alleging that the Central Bank of Kenya was intending to trade with his money and turn it into equity, yet it had no right to change his contract with Imperial Bank in spite of the receivership.

Presiding ove the case, Justice Patrick Otieno stated that the order will be in force for 14 days adding that the suit should be heard immediately.

Ashok, who accused the regulator of wanting to use his money to pay its depositors, asked the court to restrain the CBK and Imperial Bank from investing or transferring the colossal amount to the Kenya Commercial Bank and DTB or the Kenya Insurance Deposit Corporation (KIDC), pending hearing and determination of the application.

Read Also: Businessman Fights for Sh1 Billion Trapped in Bank

The tycoon indicated that the closure of the bank had left his family stranded adding that him together with his wife needed the money for their retirement.

Imperial Bank was put under receivership by CBK in October 2015, after senior officials were accused of swindling over Sh34 Billion from the institution between 2002 and September 2015.

Read Also: How Imperial Bank Customers Will Finally Get Their Money

The closure of the bank brought a lot of misery to customers who had placed their life savings at the financial institution.

However, depositors at the bank later had their hopes revived after KDIC effected a joint agreement with the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and Diamond Trust Bank (DTB), that would allow Imperial bank depositors with up to a maximum Sh1 Million get their money.

Read Also: How Imperial Bank Customers Will Finally Get Their Money

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