Omnicane accused of backdating US$7M loan

The media in Rwanda do not intend to give respite to the Mauritian company Omnicane. In an investigative article published on August 26, The Taarifa newspaper alleged that US$7million meant to be sent from Mauritius to Rwanda for operations of an energy project “may never reach its final destination.”

In the ongoing series of stories about a dispute between shareholders in an energy firm, Omnihydro Ltd, Taarifa claimed it has flipped through documents and found one that allegedly proves that one of the shareholders (Omnicane Ltd) sought a US$7million loan.

Refad Group AG and Omnicane Ltd are both shareholders of Omnihydro Ltd formerly Refad Rwanda Ltd.

Taarifa claimed it has seen files where Omnicane supposedly requested for US$7million from an undisclosed bank and allegedly did so without the knowledge of a co-shareholder “and did not follow proper procedure.”

Coincidentally, the loan said to have been requested by Omnicane Ltd on August 21, 2021, was allegedly backdated to 2012, “a move the other shareholder (Refad group AG) considers fraudulent,” Taarifa claimed.

Clare Akamanzi the CEO of Rwanda Development Board was cited as claiming that the regulator is “not aware of any information pertaining to one of the shareholders requesting for a bank loan. We have not received any request for a mortgage registration or any other documentation pertaining to this purported transaction.”

“Refad Group AG and RDB wrote to Omnicane several times 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020); asking Omnicane to disclose company information such as P&L major expenses and income. Omnicane refused to send us this information,” Dr. Jacques Ntogue told Taarifa.

This document titled ‘Shareholders Resolution of the Company’ apparently shows that Refad Group AG was stripped of voting rights for not attending shareholders meetings and not responding to company requests.

Taarifa said Omnicane Ltd did not respond to its media queries.

Read original article at The Taarifa