The case of AVCO has been unfolded at a time when a case of money laundering against Unity, a network marketing business house, is ongoing in the country. The SOI Group has since recent years been known for having notorious reputation. The Cosmic Air run by the company was halted after the Group could not pay the lease amount, which hurt the international credibility of not only the company but of the country as a whole. Similarly, it is known for not having cleared New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport’s ground handling charges. Cosmic’s other ventures like the BMW dealership and Ying Yang motorcycle too failed over the years. The Ying Yang bikes, which claimed to be the first motorbikes to be manufactured in Nepal, went bust without clearing the outstanding liabilities.
The impunity enjoyed by such fraudulent companies proves that the agencies concerned for protecting consumer interests in the country like the Department of Commerce or local administrations like the office of Chief District Officer are totally irresponsive and incompetent. In case of AVCO, action has been extremely slow from state agencies’ side even after customers producing enough evidence to argue their case. The police has already recognized it as a clear case of hoax played by AVCO Hyundai. The authorities must, therefore, take strong measures by freezing the company’s businesses and assets at once and take more serious actions to trace the guilty party. Also, it is high time that the government starts thinking of setting up a separate department to protect consumer interests of Nepalis.
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