Police arrest two for loan embezzlement

KATHMANDU, JUN 07 -

The police have arrested proprietor of Jamko Publications Private Limited Kishor Dhakal and Gauri Khanal for embezzling loans taken from Siddhartha Development Bank. Khanal is the wife of KIST Bank Managing Director Kamal Gyawali.

Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the Nepal Police has initiated legal action against the duo as per the Banking Offense Act. The court on Thursday gave additional time to the police to take the accused under control for further investigation.

Dhakal defaulted Rs 130 million in loans taken from the development bank, according to a CIB statement. Her liability to the bank has reached Rs 160 million.

Dhakal had put two land plots in Rabibhawan, Kathmandu, up as collateral. He had bought the land from Khanal for Rs 120 million. The police said as the loan was provided to Dhakal, the amount was transferred to the account of Khanal in Prime Commercial Bank. While revaluating the collateral, its value was found to be just Rs 60 million.

However, KIST’s Gyawali said the money was in fact transferred to his wife’s account as she had sold that land to Dhakal. He said his wife didn’t take the loan from Siddhartha. “Instead, she sold the 25 aana of land in August 2010 for Rs 120 million,” he said.

After receiving the money from Dhakal, the amount was paid to Prime Bank from where she had received loans to purchase the same land. A Nepal Rastra Bank source said there is a practice of bank directors taking loans from each others’ financial institutions.

Source: The Kathmandu Post