KATHMANDU, AUGUST 15: Tiger Palace Resort which has been accused of encroaching upon government land has once again courted a controversy. Silver Heritage Group has invested in the hotel.
The hotel has a total investment of Rs 5 billion including an investment of Rs 2.5 billion by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) and the hotel's foreign investor has sold government land and has even tried to get outside of the country.
Sources have claimed that Silver Heritage Group which has its head office in Hong Kong has the court's judgment in its favor. Tiger Palace Resort and its international operator Silver Heritage have lost two of their cases in two lower courts. Earlier, Rupandehi District Court and Butwal High Court made judgments to stop the buying and selling of land.
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Both Tiger Palace Resort and Silver Heritage were charged with contempt of court as they went ahead with the construction against the judgment of the court. The company went to the Supreme Court after 13 months to dismiss the verdicts of both lower courts.
As the Supreme Court attached high priority to this case, ‘dishonest activities’ have been suspected. On August 3, a division bench of justices Bishwambhar Prasad Shrestha and Tanka Bahadur Moktan gave an order to give verdict on Tiger Resort Hotel as soon as possible and gave a judgment for rehearing on August 16. “It is very hard for grievous cases to have a hearing but giving high priority to this case has created an apprehension,” said an advocate
Encroachment of government land by a foreign company and the Supreme Court’s priority for hearing this case strengthens these suspicions. Silver Heritage started their operation in 2021. The resort spreads across 15 bighas in Kotihawa Tilottama Municipality with the investment of Rs 5 billion.
It is said that the resort has taken a loan of Rs 2.5 billion from Prime Bank which is suspicious. Even amid controversies, Prime Bank has blindly invested in Tiger Palace Resort. It is also alleged that the company has misused the loan from Prime Bank.
Santosh Tamu has filed a complaint at Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), blaming the resort for the misuse of the loans taken from Prime Commercial Bank. The loan amount taken for the resort from the bank has been invested in SMSK Casino. Silver Heritage Resort also operates SMSK Casino.
Sources also claimed that Rs 2.5 billion has been spent for high ranking officers and Rs 1.50 billion has been sent abroad. The company had fired 393 Nepali workers and in the same case against the company, Rs 620 million was demanded as compensation at the court. The consumer group also has filed a case as the company has encroached upon government property and even its foreign investment seems suspicious.
More than half a dozen investors were interested in investing in the resort as the company was preparing to sell it. At first Indra Bahadur Thapa, who stays in Malaysia, agreed to purchase the hotel but after his agreement was breached, local businessman Bal Krishna Bhusal wanted to purchase it.
