More woes for Chanakira

Published: 18 February 2015

Kingdom Bank Africa Limited (KBAL) owned by prominent businessman Nigel Chanakira has been placed under curatorship in Botswana.

The offshore outfit is said to be teetering on the brink of collapse according to media reports from the country, a position that has resulted in the Bank of Botswana (BoB) intervening by taking over its operations.

"Members of the public are hereby notified that the Bank of Botswana has assumed temporary management of Kingdom Bank Africa Limited (KBAL), in accordance with Section 33 of the Banking Act (CAP 46:04)," BoB spokesperson Andrew Sesinyi said in a statement.

He said the financial institution would no longer be allowed to take deposits, offer loans and withdrawals services.

"Customers of KBAL are informed that, during the temporary management period, the operations of KBAL will only be restricted to receiving repayments of loans and advances made to customers," Sesinyi said.

The BoB move comes amid reports KBAL resisted the option of handing over its banking licence despite its liquidity challenges that had seen even its employee going for months without pay.

"Business is challenging at the moment. We are working round the clock to try and resolve the liquidity challenges we are facing and get back on our feet as soon as possible," acting managing director of KBAL, Peter Mukunga told the country’s media.

KBAL was registered in Botswana in 2003 with the Chanakira-founded Kingdom Bank Zimbabwe (KBZ), as its parent company and technical partner.

Chanakira received KBAL as part of his exit deal from Kingdom Financial Holdings Zimbabwe after disposing of his 30 percent stake, later rebranded to AfrAsia Zimbabwe Holdings Limited (AZHL).

As part of the deal, AZHL in turn sold its remaining interest in the Botswana-based offshore bank, Kingdom Bank Africa Limited (KBAL,) to Chanakira’s family investment vehicle - Crustmoon Investments. Crustmoon Investments was also handed the "Kingdom" Trademark under the deal.
- dailynews

Tags: Chanakira,