A team of Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) in coordination with Department of Immigration took her into custody from Tribhuvan International Airport on Wednesday. [break]
“The Interpol Bangkok nabbed Binita Pradhan after Indian government gave a tip-off that she was hiding in Bangkok and subsequently deported her to Nepal,” said DIG Upendra Kanta Aryal, the chief of Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police.
The Indian government had issued a red corner notice against her and four others--the promoter of AVCO Sanjay Pradhan, Anup Pradhan, Madhav Shrestha and Dhiren Tamang--for duping Indians on January 5, 2012. She was deported by Bangkok police via Thai Airlines flight number TG319, at around 12:30 pm on Wednesday.
A CIB source told Republica that 40-year-old Pradhan and her partners have a loan of IRS 121.8 million at State Bank of India. Similarly, the Indian government has alleged Pradhan for not using the cash credit limit meant for a vehicle transaction in 2007-2009.
“She diverted the facilities of cash credit limit to other than the specified purpose,” the source added. She has been accused of taking around Rs 80.5 million from a number of people and not delivering them the cars.
There were reports that the company duped at least 167 people who either paid full or partial payments to get new cars. The owners of AVCO International Pvt. Ltd, including Pradhan, were absconding since then.
The AVCO International Pvt. Ltd was one of the two authorized dealers of the Korean carmaker Hyundai in Nepal.
Pradhan had issued a Letter of Credit (LC) from Machchhapuchhre Bank and imported Hyundai vehicles but didn´t pay back the credit of 167 vehicles to the bank. The bank put her name in the blacklist after that. She, however, had already collected a large chunk of cash from people assuring them that she would provide them new cars.
People who made full or partial payment had placed orders for vehicles like Santro GLS, i10 Magna/Asta/Sports, Santro GL, i20 Magna/Asta and i10 Era. It has been revealed that 66 cars, of the total 167, were ordered through AVCO Cosmic Automobiles in Nagpokhari, while the rest of the vehicles were ordered through AVCO Tinkune.
A team of high-level officials from Hyundai Korea came to Nepal last year following the news reports about the delay in the transfer of ownership of the vehicles to the people who had placed the orders. Hyundai Korea then removed AVCO International as its authorized dealer in Nepal.
According to DIG Aryal, there are more than 61 fraud cases registered against Pradhan at Metropolitan Police Range, Hanumandhoka. Pradhan, who is currently in police custody at Hanumandhoka, will be taken to Kathmandu District Court where the police will seek Pradhan´s judicial custody for investigation.
Though there are cases filed against her in India on fraud charges, it is unlikely that she would be sent to India as there is no extradition treaty between the two countries.
“As per the legal law, we don´t need to send Pradhan to India even though there are fraud charges pending against her in that country. This is the issue to be resolved through diplomatic channel,” said a CIB source.
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