KATHMANDU, Sept 17: A seven-member parliamentary special committee, formed to investigate the misuse of cooperative funds and chaired by CPN-UML lawmaker Surya Thapa, submitted its report to the House of Representatives on Monday. The report concluded that 40 cooperatives have embezzled a total of Rs 87 billion of their depositors’ money.

The physical number of cooperatives, their members, and the capital share themselves are enough to postulate the importance of the cooperative sector in the national economy. This is a testament to the significant role that cooperatives play in the economic development of the nation. However, the country's cooperative sector is becoming fragile daily, and people are losing their trust in these member-based democratic social entrepreneurship.

KATHMANDU, May 10: The Nepali Congress has reiterated the demand for the formation of a parliamentary committee for conducting an impartial investigation into the cooperative scam, blaming the involvement of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in embezzling cooperative funds.