Six things you didn’t know about embattled Tycoon Sudhir Ruparelia

By Watchdog reporter

Apparently, Sudhir Ruparelia, one of the largest property mogul in Uganda is in the middle of crossroads after being dragged to Court by Bank of Uganda accusing him of siphoning shs400 billion from the now defunct Crane Bank.

Here are some of the things you don’t know about Sudhir:

1. Dr Sudhir Jayantilal Ruparelia is a Ugandan-Asian whose family came to Uganda in 1903, he was born in 1956(60 years ago ) at Mengo hospital in Kampala. He has lived in Kasese and Jinja before he went to Britain where he worked as a cab driver.

2. He returned to Uganda in 1985 where he grew his business empire from scratch to where the enviable multi-million dollar worth. He started building his empire in Uganda in 1985 after returning from the United Kingdom. He began by importing beer and salt from Kenya and subsequently started a foreign exchange bureau which laid the foundation for his entry into commercial banking.

3. According to 2014 Forbes African edition, Sudhir was number 22 on the list of the most richest people on the African continent and the richest in East Africa. He was worth over $1 billion. That is why it is surprising many business analysts that the government can disrupt the business empire of the only Forbes rated in the country, thus scaring away investors who might have wanted to grow their financial prospects in the country.

3. Although his Crane Bank was taken over by the central bank, Sudhir is still one of Uganda’s largest property owners. Through his Ruparelia Group, he owns more than 300 commercial and residential properties, including the Speke Hotels and the Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort, various schools including Victoria University, Kampala University and Kampala International School Uganda (KISU), among others.

4. Despite Sudhir being a household name among the continent’s wealthy circles, the businessman is a down to earth person who keeps friendship so dear.

5. Sudhir is said to be monitoring his bank accounts personally, which he does daily as early as 7am. It is said he keeps his accounts in various currencies of the world.

6. He broke a record when he hosted a $2 million lavish wedding party for his daughter Meera who was getting married to the love of her life Ravi in London, on which he hosted who is who is Uganda.

7. In the battle for Crane Bank, Sudhir has unleashed Kampala Associates Advocates (KAA) to challenge Bank of Uganda and their lawyers of MMKAS who want to run away with over Sh600 billion of Crane bank shareholders money which was not disclosed when the defunct bank was taken over by the Bank of Uganda and sold to DfCU.