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Arghakhanchi, June 14: Officials have recovered more than Rs 2.3 million that were handed over to individuals defrauded while seeking foreign employment.
They reimbursed a total of Rs 2,324,765 to 13 people from Arghakhanchi who were promised jobs abroad but never sent after their money was taken. The Safer Migration Project (SaMi), based at the District Administration Office, led the effort to recover the funds from various parts of the district.
By mid-May in the current fiscal year, the Migrant Resource Centre received 34 fraud complaints and resolved 13 of them with full refunds. While five people received partial refunds from the Migrant Resource Center in Arghakhanchi, three complaints were sent to the department, five financial transactions were recorded, and the remaining cases are still being followed up on, according to Basanta Shrestha, Program Coordinator.
The center has provided foreign employment-related counseling to 7,881 individuals. Coordinator Shrestha said the center also helped distribute Rs 6,869,431 in insurance claims to individuals who died, became disabled, or suffered accidents while working abroad.
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Chief District Officer Bed Prasad Kharel urged the public to sign proper labor contracts before going abroad and to report any cases of fraud to the Migrant Resource Center at the District Administration Office.
58 people from Arghakhanchi died abroad
Over the past seven years, foreign employment claimed the lives of 58 individuals from Arghakhanchi.
All of them had obtained labor permits before leaving the country. Records show that out of the 57,012 people who went abroad from Arghakhanchi with official labor approval, 58 died, while 74 suffered disabilities or became seriously ill.
The Migrant Resource Center clarified that this data only covers those who traveled with formal labor permits. The figures may differ for individuals who went abroad illegally, skipped official procedures, or traveled on tourist or student visas.
In the last fiscal year, 2023/24, 8,855 individuals from Arghakhanchi went abroad for employment. Among them, 8 percent were women who left the district to work overseas.
Households spend most remittance money on luxury and daily consumption
Families are spending money earned abroad mainly on luxury items and daily consumption. Data show that most remittances from foreign countries go towards purchasing everyday consumer goods.
The National Statistics Office reports that households use 72.40 percent of remitted money for daily expenses. They spend 15.8 percent on loan repayments, 4.6 percent on education, and only 1.9 percent on land or property.
About 56 percent of households in the country receive remittances, but they save just 1.9 percent for the future. Most families in Nepal appear to spend remittance money on household needs and luxury goods.
