Department Of Revenue Investigations to summon CEOs of banks

KATHMANDU, FEB 19: 

Department of Revenue Investigation has almost completed the investigation of the misuse of Indian Currency (IC) using fake customs declaration forms, according to deputy director general Rajendra Sharma Laudari. 

The department will file a case in the court by the end of February, he said, adding that it will soon question chief executive officers of banks from where the currency was misappropriated.

The department is mulling on whether to call the CEOs to appear at the department or to ask them to furnish their justification in writing, he said. The department realised the need to interrogate CEOs after the investigation with branch managers was not sufficient in assessing the negligence of the banks, according to him.

The investigation carried out by the department has revealed that traders and firms had misappropriated IRs 1.28 billion using fake customs declaration forms, said Laudari. The investigation will be complete once the interrogation of CEOs of the concerned banks is over, informed Laudari. However, he did not reveal whether the department would file a case against banks.

Firms have misappropriated Indian Currency through nine different banks — NIC Bank, SBI Bank, Laxmi Bank, Siddhartha Bank, Everest Bank, Nepal Investment Bank, Bangladesh Bank, Citizen Bank and Nepal Bank. The department decided to bring the banks under its scanner because it noticed they had issued Indian Currency without filling the foreign currency exchange forms as directed by law.

The department has already completed the interrogation of customs agents, available owners of firms involved in Indian Currency misappropriation and bank managers of concerned banks from where the IC was released. The multi-million Indian Currency misappropriation scam was carried out by eight firms — Shyam Galla, Rehant Traders, Maxwell Computers, Digital World, Laxmi Traders, GS Traders, Mahalaxmi