Imperial Bank directors move to court seeking FTI findings

Imperial Bank directors and shareholders have moved to court demanding the release of findings from an audit report linking them to the mega fraud that led to the bank’s closure.

This, a day after they moved to court linking senior Central Bank of Kenya and Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) employees to the scam.

In a suit filed by their lawyer Terry Mwango from Coulson Harney, the directors claim use of the FTI Consulting forensic audit to link them to the fraud without it being shared with them and the court amounted to prosecution without a fair trial.

“There is no basis, legal or otherwise, and none has been established by the Plaintiffs, as to why the FTI Consulting Report has not been produced,” the directors say in their affidavit.

CBK and KDIC had on September 30 moved to court seeking to recover Sh45 billion from the directors as well as freeze their known local assets.

The directors however claim that failure to produce the FTI Consulting Report has gravely prejudiced them as they are unable to respond to the allegations.

“Unless this honorable court intervenes and grants the orders sought herein before the inter partes hearing of the Plaintiffs’ Application, the right to a fair and objective hearing based on all material facts will have been compromised and a grave miscarriage of justice will have been occasioned,” the directors say in their application.

The suit comes even comes as a section of Imperial Bank depositors grow restless as to when they will have access to their funds.

The depositors staged a peaceful demo outside the bank’s headquarters in Westlands, calling for government intervention in resolving the impasse.

The depositors want President Uhuru Kenyatta to take swift action as well as compel the courts to fast track pending cases to unlock their funds.

“We request CBK to allow us to sit at their table for decision making and involvement in the depositors’ fate,” Mahmood Khambiye a member of the Imperial Bank lobby group said.