New laws are needed for prosecution and action in banking crimes: Finance Minister Paudel

Speaking at the Finance Committee under the House of Representatives, Finance Minister Paudel said that the incidents of banking offenses and dishonoring of checks have increased significantly in recent days. He is of the opinion that this bill should be implemented as a law to further organize the investigation and prosecution process of the incident. He said that the

bill prioritizes financial fines for banking offenses such as dishonoring of checks. At the Finance Committee's meeting on Sunday, MP Swarnim Wagle said that a law should be passed to impose financial fines rather than imprisonment for banking offences. He says that there is a system of financial penalties for crimes like check dishonoring worldwide.

Similarly, he said that the work of the Parliament and the Parliamentary Committee could not proceed effectively. He emphasized that the bills registered in the parliament and discussed in the committee should be finalized soon.

Another MP Padam Giri opined that the legislative role of Parliament is weak. He says that many bills are stuck because the meeting of the committee is not effective. Last year, the cabinet meeting on 23rd of July approved the draft of the bill, 2080, which was made to amend the Banking Offenses and Punishment Act, 2064.

The then finance minister Prakasharan Mahat registered this bill in the parliament on October 16, 2080. The government has prepared this bill based on the suggestion that the Banking Offenses and Punishment Act should be amended from the study of the Attorney General's office and the order of the Supreme Court of Vyhora that it should be made uniform as there are different types of legal treatment in the case of check dishonor.

A provision has been made in the bill that a person should not issue a check without the balance in his account. "No one should knowingly issue a check to someone knowing that there is no balance in his bank account or even if the balance is not sufficient for payment, or demand payment of such a check from the bank," the bill states. If the amount required to pay the

check is not found in the account, such check must be returned to the holder by the bank and financial institution. If the person who wants to exchange this check wants to prove that such check has been dishonored, the bank must give a maximum of 30 days to deposit the necessary amount in his account and notify the relevant account holder and keep the record of the same.

The bank will have to return the check after disclosing the information given in that way. If the money is not available in the account even within 30 days, the process of proving that the check has been dishonored will proceed. "After the expiration of thirty days, if the check bearer requests payment, if the required amount is not shown in the account, the bank shall return the check within three days after verifying that the check has been dishonored by the relevant account holder," the bill states. Through the

bill, the penalty for banking offenses related to check dishonor is about to be amended. In Banking Offenses and Punishment Act, 2064, if a check is dishonored, there is a fine and imprisonment for up to three months if the check is dishonored. A draft has been prepared to prescribe imprisonment based on the basis.