Businessman Hamis Kiggundu, popularly known as HAM, Tuesday lost an appeal in the Supreme Court after 6 judges unanimously agreed the Sh120 billion, which was extended to him by DTB Uganda and DTB Kenya is within the law.
HAM had argued that DTB Kenya has no license to operate in Uganda when it came to repayment of the loan, which DTB Uganda later recovered on behalf of its Kenyan counterpart.
However, in the ruling delivered Tuesday, the Supreme Court judges have unanimously agreed that the loan facility was legal and ordered HAM to pay 50% Court costs.
In the instant case before this Court, the 2nd Respondent (DTB Kenya) is neither licensed nor regulated to carry out financial institution business in Uganda; hence, its appointment of the 1st Respondent (DTB Uganda) as its banking agent could not have been so done under the provisions of the Financial Institutions (Agent Banking) Regulations, 2017.
Second, the 1st Respondent, being an entity duly licensed to carry out financial institution business in Uganda, could not have been appointed a banking agent of the 2nd Respondent within the purview of the Financial Institutions Act, 2004, as amended, and the Agent Banking Regulations of 2017 made pursuant thereto.
Accordingly then, the relationship between these two banking institutions, and between them and the Appellants, with regard to the financial credit transactions carried out between and amongst them, were neither governed by the Financial Institutions Act, 2004, as amended, nor the Financial Institutions (Agent Banking) Regulations, 2017, made thereunder.
