Imperial Bank shareholders sue DTB

Imperial Bank shareholders have moved to court seeking to stop the poaching of its staff and customers.

In a court filing, the shareholders accuse Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) of actively calling its employees for interviews with a view of hiring them.

“Some of Imperial Bank’s employees are at an advanced stage of DTB’s recruitment process,” court papers show.

In its court filings, shareholders accuse DTB of being an interested party with knowledge of the bank’s customer list. The shareholders further claim that the bank is on record saying its staff members were part of the fraud scheme at the bank.

“DTB has on 16^th November 2016, confirmed to the Senate Finance Committee, that it is aware that some of its employees may have been involved in the fraudulent dealings at Imperial Bank,” shareholders say in the suit.

Imperial Bank was placed under receivership in October 2015, following the unearthing of an Sh34 billion-fraud scheme allegedly carried out by its late former managing director Abdulmalek Janmohammed

DTB and Kenya Commercial Bank were appointed by the Central Bank of Kenya in December to process claims and pay depositors up to Sh1million of their deposits.

It is this conflict of interest that Imperial Bank shareholders say was being used to rob the bank of its customers. By repaying depositors, IBL shareholders fear that all is left is the liquidation of the bank, arguing that it was being left at a disadvantaged position.

Shareholders had earlier in the month sued the Central Bank and the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) seeking to stop them from taking steps towards dissolution of the bank.

The shareholders are also opposed to the current payout structure arguing that it has given the two banks access to their client list, which they can use against them in the competitive banking sector.

“Unless this honorable court intervenes at this stage, the respondents through the unlawful and unreasonable decisions, actions and omissions complained of, will effectively drive Imperial Bank to liquidation prematurely,” shareholders say.

Imperial Bank has been seeking to have the banking regulator agree to its revival strategy plans.

Last week CBK Governor Dr Patrick Njoroge said the regulator was still open to talks. Shareholders had proposed to inject Sh10 billion into the bank, recover assets from recipients of the fraudulent money as well as bringing on board a strategic investor.

“If we re-open it (Imperial Bank) it has to be re opened to stay open. We shouldn’t be in the business of re opening banks for a temporary amount of time then being forced to close it,” CBK Governor Dr Njoroge said last week.