KATHMANDU, July 4: The parliamentary special committee formed to investigate the embezzlement of depositors’ money by various cooperatives has summoned operators of all 29 problematic cooperatives for clarifications.

A meeting of the probe committee held on Thursday decided to take statements from the executives of all cooperatives on its list. “We have requested all the concerned to help the committee in its investigation process,” said Surya Bahadur Thapa, coordinator of the probe committee. “If they fail to appear for statements, we will forward legal actions against them.”

The government on May 28 formed a seven-member committee led by CPN-UML lawmaker Thapa to investigate the embezzlement of deposits in dozens of cooperatives across the country. The committee has been mandated to investigate the crisis-ridden cooperatives, their legal and institutional purposes, financial systems, regulatory arrangements, supervision, and transparency, and to make recommendations to the government.

The probe panel was formed after the main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) disrupted parliament’s sessions for over two months, demanding the constitution of a parliamentary committee to investigate cooperative scams.

The NC, however, was mainly concerned about bringing under investigation Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, who has been accused of embezzling funds of various cooperatives while serving as the managing director of Gorkha Media Network before joining politics.

The panel started its work after holding discussions on issues related to the cooperative sector with officials from the National Cooperative Federation, the Savings and Credit Central Cooperative Association, and the National Cooperative Bank Limited. The probe panel also took feedback from Auditor General Toyam Raya, Director General of the Department of Money Laundering Kamal Bhattarai, and Registrar at the Department of Cooperatives Pitambar Ghimire.

Last week, the panel asked nine cooperatives on its list to submit details of their financial transactions. These included Ideal Yamuna Multipurpose Cooperative, Image Savings and Credit Cooperative Ltd., Sahara Savings and Credit Cooperative, Samanta Savings and Credit Cooperative, Sano Paila Savings and Credit Cooperative, Supreme Savings and Credit Cooperative, Surya Darshan Savings and Credit Cooperative, Sumeru Savings and Credit Cooperative, and Swarna Lakshmi Savings and Credit Cooperative.

According to government records, hundreds of cooperatives have been found misappropriating their depositors’ money, worth more than Rs 200 billion. Of them, 54 big cooperatives, mainly savings and credit cooperatives, have failed to return Rs 160 billion to their depositors.

Meanwhile, the probe panel has also summoned the Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Inspector General of (IGP) of Nepal Police for a discussion on Friday. Thapa said they have also scheduled talks with the chiefs of the Central Investigation Bureau and the Crime Investigation Department.

 
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