Ex-governor Shrestha sued at Debt Recovery Tribunal
KATHMANDU, DEC 24 -
Nepal Credit and Commerce Bank (NCC) has sue d former central bank governor Satyandra Pyara Shrestha for repayment of a loan is sue d to his Amie Pharmaceuticals. The bank said it had filed a case at the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) as the collateral put up for the loan was insufficient.
CEO of NCC Bank Amrit Charan Shrestha said that efforts were continuing to settle the is sue out of court as the ex-governor had paid Rs 2 million out of the Rs 10 million he owes. He added that the bank had to go to court as the existing collateral could not match the liabilities he had with the bank.
Although both Nepal Bangladesh Bank and NCC had provided loans to Ame Pharmaceuticals, the collateral which include factory equipment and land occupied by the factory as well as Shrestha’s house in Janakpur had been put up at Nepal Bangladesh Bank. Nepal Bangladesh Bank had loaned around Rs 40 million to Amie Pharmaceuticals.
Nepal Bangladesh Bank auctioned off the properties, but the cash raised fell short of what was owed to the two banks. “No fixed assets were put up as collateral, and the small amount of stock is not enough to recover our loans to Amie Pharmaceuticals,” said Shrestha.
Earlier, Nabil Bank and two banks of the NB Group, Nepal Bangladesh Bank and NCC Bank, had petitioned the Credit Information Bureau to blacklist the officials of the other. Former Nabil chairman Shrestha had been blacklisted for defaulting loans taken from Nepal Bangladesh Bank and NCC Bank for Amie Pharmaceuticals. Nabil retaliated by blacklisting NB Group managing director Laxmi Bahadur Shrestha and his family members for failing to repay its loans.
Laxmi Bahadur Shrestha and other NB Group officials are in hiding after committing fraud while issuing credit from Nepal Sri Lanka Merchant Bank illegally before it merged with Nepal Bangladesh Bank.
On the other hand, Nepal Bangladesh Bank has filed five separate cases against the
loanees of Nepal Shree Lanka Merchant Banking and Finance (NSMBF) at the DRT as the collateral they have put up is inadequate. NSMBF has been merged with Nepal Bangladesh Bank which inherited the finance company’s liabilities.
Nepal Bangladesh Bank wants to recover loans worth Rs 28.3 million is sue d by NSMBF to Rabindra Bahadur Singh, former executive chairman of United Development Bank. Singh is currently in jail for banking fraud committed while heading United Finance.
Likewise, Nepal Bangladesh Bank has filed a case against Sohit Shrestha who has borrowed Rs 18.3 million from NSMBF and Nepal Bangladesh Bank. Similarly, a case has been filed against Summit Investment and Narendra Maharjan and the Nepal Medical Health Science Institute promoted by Maharjan.
According to the details provided to the DRT, Summit Investment had taken a loan of Rs 19 million. Maharjan had borrowed Rs 51.6 million for his medical institute and for himself. “These are the loans extended by NSMBF, and we are trying to recover them,” said Nepal Bangladesh Bank CEO Gyanendra Dhungana.
Meanwhile, Machhapuchchhre Bank has sought the DRT’s help to recover loans from the promoter of Cosmic Air and former Hyundai car distributor. Avco directors Rabindra Pradhan and his son Ajaya Pradhan had borrowed about Rs 80 million from Machhapuchchhre. Ajaya had taken a loan of Rs 75.34 million for Sunny Sreyars Organization of Industries while his father had taken Rs 2.8 million. The Pradhan family’s troubles began after Cosmic Air went bankrupt as a result of issuing air tickets at ridiculously low prices. Subsequently, they also failed to deliver Hyundai cars to customers who had made advance deposits.
Most recently, Narayani National Finance has filed six cases while Gorkha Finance has filed nine cases at the DRT. Likewise, NMB Bank, Lumbini Finance, Kist Bank and NCC Bank each have filed a case at the DRT against defaulters.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
