Police go after financial crooks with extra zeal
KATHMANDU, OCT 01 -
The Nepal Police has been going all out to control financial crime after the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) was set up reversing the past trend of giving low priority to offences like banking fraud, hundi transactions and illegal call bypass.
The arrest of Yogendra Prasad Shrestha, former chairman of Nepal Share Market Finance (NSMF) by the CIB, is one of the latest examples. The CIB has formed a unit called Pillar II to look into financial crimes. “As financial and other types of illegal acts are interconnected, we have accorded priority to controlling financial crime,” said Deputy Inspector General of Police Upendra Kanta Aryal, head of the CIB.
However, the police are yet to nab most of those involved in financial crimes and against whom arrest warrants have been issued. In the last six months, the CIB has nabbed a dozen culprits and some honchos of many financial institutions that landed in trouble due to their misdeeds.
With the arrest of the most wanted fraudster Yogendra Shrestha on Wednesday, who allegedly embezzled Rs 2.66 billion, the total number of culprits in the police net has reached 13. However, there are still 26 suspects on the run, according to the police. The CIB has filed cases against the responsible officials of seven financial institutions who have been accused of embezzling more than Rs 5.11 billion worth of public deposits.
Top officials of NSMF, Gurkha Development Bank, Capital Merchant and Finance, Samjhana Finance, Nepal Development Bank, United Development Bank and People’s Finance were involved in misappropriating huge amounts of money. The police are yet to calculate the exact amount of embezzlement at People’s Finance and United Development Bank which will increase the misappropriated amount.
Out of the seven financial institutions under the scanner, Nepal Development Bank and Samjhana have been liquidated. Gurkha and United have been declared crisis-ridden. The central bank has taken action against other financial institution under prompt corrective action measures.
The CIB has also arrested former chairman of Gurkha Development Bank Dumbar Bahadur Bamjan, former chairman of United Development Bank Rabindra Bahadur Singh and its director Radha Krishna Amatya and former chairman of Samjhana Finance Shyam Bahadur Shrestha and its chief executive officer Him Bahadur Gurung. Likewise, Bigyan Prasad Poudel, ex-chairman of Capital Merchant and Finance and its employees Manoj Khanal, Raghu Karki and Harihar Khadka are also in the police net. They are all in judicial custody, according to the police.
Although Amirjung Khadka, a founder of Capital Merchant, and its shareholders Januka KC and Bharat Raj Poudel were arrested and released on bail. The police are yet to catch wife Gita and son Saurav of NSMF’s Shrestha. Likewise, the promoters of liquidated Nepal Development Bank Uttam Pun and other officials, Gurkha’s ex-directors and loanees including Nirmal Gurung, Dhan Prasad Rai, Ramesh Tamang, Rakesh Adukia and Ruchi Jajodiya besides Capital’s Pawan Karki are still at large.
The police have given priority to financial crime, but they lack expertise to investigate such offences. The police have asked Nepal Rastra Bank to send its experts to investigate Shrestha’s wrongdoings for this reason. “We don’t have adequate knowledge about how the banking system operates and how people commit fraud,” said an official of the CIB. “It is necessary to recruit people having expertise in the field of finance to conduct a more effective investigation.”
Source: Kantipur
The Nepal Police has been going all out to control financial crime after the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) was set up reversing the past trend of giving low priority to offences like banking fraud, hundi transactions and illegal call bypass.
The arrest of Yogendra Prasad Shrestha, former chairman of Nepal Share Market Finance (NSMF) by the CIB, is one of the latest examples. The CIB has formed a unit called Pillar II to look into financial crimes. “As financial and other types of illegal acts are interconnected, we have accorded priority to controlling financial crime,” said Deputy Inspector General of Police Upendra Kanta Aryal, head of the CIB.
However, the police are yet to nab most of those involved in financial crimes and against whom arrest warrants have been issued. In the last six months, the CIB has nabbed a dozen culprits and some honchos of many financial institutions that landed in trouble due to their misdeeds.
With the arrest of the most wanted fraudster Yogendra Shrestha on Wednesday, who allegedly embezzled Rs 2.66 billion, the total number of culprits in the police net has reached 13. However, there are still 26 suspects on the run, according to the police. The CIB has filed cases against the responsible officials of seven financial institutions who have been accused of embezzling more than Rs 5.11 billion worth of public deposits.
Top officials of NSMF, Gurkha Development Bank, Capital Merchant and Finance, Samjhana Finance, Nepal Development Bank, United Development Bank and People’s Finance were involved in misappropriating huge amounts of money. The police are yet to calculate the exact amount of embezzlement at People’s Finance and United Development Bank which will increase the misappropriated amount.
Out of the seven financial institutions under the scanner, Nepal Development Bank and Samjhana have been liquidated. Gurkha and United have been declared crisis-ridden. The central bank has taken action against other financial institution under prompt corrective action measures.
The CIB has also arrested former chairman of Gurkha Development Bank Dumbar Bahadur Bamjan, former chairman of United Development Bank Rabindra Bahadur Singh and its director Radha Krishna Amatya and former chairman of Samjhana Finance Shyam Bahadur Shrestha and its chief executive officer Him Bahadur Gurung. Likewise, Bigyan Prasad Poudel, ex-chairman of Capital Merchant and Finance and its employees Manoj Khanal, Raghu Karki and Harihar Khadka are also in the police net. They are all in judicial custody, according to the police.
Although Amirjung Khadka, a founder of Capital Merchant, and its shareholders Januka KC and Bharat Raj Poudel were arrested and released on bail. The police are yet to catch wife Gita and son Saurav of NSMF’s Shrestha. Likewise, the promoters of liquidated Nepal Development Bank Uttam Pun and other officials, Gurkha’s ex-directors and loanees including Nirmal Gurung, Dhan Prasad Rai, Ramesh Tamang, Rakesh Adukia and Ruchi Jajodiya besides Capital’s Pawan Karki are still at large.
The police have given priority to financial crime, but they lack expertise to investigate such offences. The police have asked Nepal Rastra Bank to send its experts to investigate Shrestha’s wrongdoings for this reason. “We don’t have adequate knowledge about how the banking system operates and how people commit fraud,” said an official of the CIB. “It is necessary to recruit people having expertise in the field of finance to conduct a more effective investigation.”
Source: Kantipur
