IC Misappropriation: NRB bans branches of nine banks
KATHMANDU, JAN 03 -
The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has banned branches of nine commercial banks from carrying out Indian currency (IC) transactions after a probe established their involvement in IC misappropriation last year.
According to central bank officials, the NRB has also instructed the banks concerned to take necessary action against their employees involved in the scam as per their employee bylaws.
An investigation of the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) had also revealed the involvement of bank employees in the scam and had asked the central bank to take necessary action. “The action was taken as per the DRI finding on the case,” said NRB spokesperson Bhaskarmani Gnawali.
The IC was drawn from NIC Bank, SBI Bank, Everest Bank, Laxmi Bank, Citizen Bank, Nepal Investment Bank, Siddhartha Bank, Nepal Bangladesh Bank and Nepal Bank Limited by submitting the fake customs clearance documents.
According to the DRI, banks officials were found to have assisted traders to withdraw IRs 1.23 billion (Rs 1.98 billion) against 2,341 fake customs declaration forms. Most of such misappropriation had originated from their Birgunj-based branches, while IC was found to have been withdrawn also from a Bhaktapur branch.
According to a central bank official, the ban on IC transactions will continue until the banks concerned satisfy the central bank that their system of IC transaction was good enough. “The action against the employees involved should also be taken as per their employees bylaws,” said the NRB official. “That could be stopping payment of salary, withhold promotion, demotion and firing from the bank.”
Although the banks were refusing to accept involvement of their staff, the central bank official said that the action was taken after their study established involvement of bank employees.
The IC was withdrawn in the name of importing firms including Birgunj-based Maxwell Computer, Shyam Galla Bhandar, Jaya Mata Di International, Digital World, GS Traders, Jaya Baba Amarnath, Gangotri Galla Bandar and Nitesh Brothers.
The big scandal of misappropriation came into light only after five Indian nationals Sandeep Kumar Shah, Ramesh Kumar Shah, Mukul Bhusan Krishna, Sukesh Kumar Mishra and Arabinda Kumar Shah were arrested with possession of fake customs clearance documents in September 2011. The DRI had filed case against 12 persons allegedly involved in the scam but the Parsa District Court released them on bail in June 2012.
The DRI believes that the traders resorted to such tactics after the central bank lowered the limit on IC withdrawals from Indian ATMs using debit cards issued by Nepali banks and financial institutions.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
