The investigators have also identified Padam Bahadur Rawat and Narayan Poudel as the owners of the firm and have requested Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to freeze all of their bank accounts in Nepal. According to sources, the central bank is issuing a circular to this effect on Thursday. [break]
The investigation has revealed that the firm had obtained around 640 drafts/Telegraphic Transfers (TTs) worth US$ 30 million during the first five months of the current fiscal.
Officials said they have identified at least half a dozen more firms as suspected once as they had also obtained a number of drafts/TTs for the purpose of importing wool from Tibet. The details of these firms have not been revealed yet.
Finance Ministry and Nepal Rastra Bank officials are investigating siphoning off of over US$ 100 million (about eight billion rupees) to Hong Kong-based banks in the pretext of importing raw wool from Tibet.
Investigating officers couldn´t trace the offices of the firms as per the addresses mentioned in their registration certificates while applying for draft/TT to import raw wool from Tibet, said the source. That indicates the ill-intention of the firms that obtained drafts/TTs from the local banks, the source added.
Focus on banks´ failure
An officer involved in the investigation said the probe will also focus on how the local banks authorized to issue drafts/TTs failed to trace the suspicious transactions and inform the regulating agencies on time.
Why the banks remained unaware of the fact that majority of the drafts/TTs were finally deposited in bank accounts in Hong Kong whereas they were supposed to be deposited in Tibet-base bank accounts. Though it not unusual in international trade but banks should have been attentive and should have marked the transactions as suspicious specially when the amount involved was so big. As per Nepal´s Anti-money Laundering Act, banks are required to report every transaction of over Rs 1 million to Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) at the central bank.
Similarly, value of the drafts that various forms obtained is also important factor that the investigation will focus on. Normally the amount of a draft remains around US$ 10,000. The investigation will also see why the banks couldn´t take precautions when dozens of drafts with value up to US$ 49,500 were issued for the purpose wool import.
prem@myrepublica.com
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