An arrest warrant has been issued against Anjala Koirala, the wife of Public Accounts Committee Chairman of the Parliament, Rishikesh Pokharel for the crime of cooperative fraud. The Morang District Court issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday after it was found involved in misappropriating the savings of the Uma-Gauri Agricultural Co-op operating in Dhanpalthan-3 of Morang.

A case has been filed in the district court against 26 people including Koirala on November 27 in the cooperative fraud. 

Koirala was placed on the board of directors of the cooperative established at the initiative of UML leader Pokharel. She was a board member from 2072 to 2078. Based on the decision signed by Koirala, the cooperative took a loan of 11.56 million from RSDC Microfinance in Butwal.

Microfinance has already blacklisted Koirala and others after not paying the loan. Koirala resigned on January 5, 2078 after being in a cooperative crisis. 

Even though Koirala was named in the complaint, the Provincial Cooperative Registrar Office sent a directive letter to the police to investigate only 10 other members of the cooperative on August 24. At that time, there was a question that Koirala's name was removed due to political pressure.

As Koirala was also involved in money embezzlement in the investigation conducted by Rangeli area police office, a case was filed in the district court last Thursday demanding 22.5 million begos and 8 years imprisonment against 26 people. According to that, apart from one person who was arrested earlier, an arrest warrant has been issued by the court against 25 people including Koirala.  This is not the first case where a person with strong political reach has been caught in

cooperative fraud. Incidents involving leaders, leaders' wives or people with strong political access to the embezzlement of savings made by common people in cooperatives are becoming public one after the other.

Some of them are absconding while some have been arrested and prosecuted in court. Ravi Lamichhane, chairman of RSVP and former home minister, is in Kaski police custody for investigation. A total of 51 people, including him, have been accused by the police in Suryadarshan Cooperative fraud. 

UML's former parliamentarian and the then chairman of Civil Bank, Ichcharaj Tamang, is in jail on charges of co-operative fraud. A case is going on in the district court on charges of misappropriation of about 8 billion deposited by common people in civil cooperatives.

Tamang, who was arrested on October 18, 2078 for the investigation of the same crime, is in Dillibazar jail after the court ordered him to be remanded for trial.

Tamang has already been found guilty by a special court in January 2080 for the crime of money laundering.  While deciding on Tamang's case, the court has explained that investing cooperative funds in private companies is a punishable offense. 

The court held that wealth laundering is a crime for personal gain by investing the money elsewhere. "Investing the funds of the cooperative in a private company and doing it with the intention of getting personal benefit from it is a crime of money laundering," said the judgment. Tamang was a member on behalf of UML in the Second Constituent Assembly. 

Mayor Dev Kumar of Baglung's Dhorpatan Municipality is in pre-trial detention on charges of defrauding the Nepali Cooperative. Nepali, who closed the cooperative on May 7, 2080 due to lack of liquidity, disappeared from May 4 of the same year. 1 thousand 543 savers filed a complaint against him alleging fraud.

After being investigated based on the complaint, the public prosecutor's office filed a case in the court on June 25, 2080 for fraud of 1.54 billion rupees. Police arrested the Nepali in New Delhi, India last October. After that, Baglung district court sent him to prison for preliminary investigation. He is the mayor elected twice consecutively from Nepali UML. 

Krishna Bahadur (KB), secretary of UML's Central Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Department, is in Dillibazar Jail on charges of co-operative fraud. 6 billion 268.5 million savings were misappropriated in National Cooperative Bank and Ideal Yamuna our multi-purpose cooperative under his leadership. Upreti was arrested by the police last June. About a month later, the court ordered him to be sent to prison for trial. 

Kantipur Savings and Credit Cooperative Chairman Himalayavikram Mall Thakuri and former Chairman Chandra Bahadur (CB) Lama are now in Dillibazar Jail. Lama was a Congress candidate in Kavre in the 2074 election. About 8 billion rupees have been embezzled in Kantipur Savings. Lama Pashupati is also involved in misappropriation of cooperative savings. He was arrested last May. 

After investigating the ex-director and ex-managing director Lamichhane of Gorkha Media Network Pvt. Ltd. in Pokhara's Suryadarshan cooperative fraud, the police have submitted the report to the district attorney's office. A preliminary hearing will be held after the public prosecutor prosecutes the case.

Kumar Ramtel, the accused of Suryadarshan Cooperative fraud and the owner of Gorkha Media, is already in Kaski Jail for remand. Ramtel joined as a director after leaving the Gorkha media, which wanted to join politics. An investigation is also underway against Lamichhane in the savings fraud of Swarnalakshmi in Kathmandu, Supreme in Butwal, Sahara Chitwan in Bharatpur and Sano Payla Sahakari in Birganj. 

RP MP Geeta Basnet, accused of cheating the cooperative's savings, has been absconding for 6 months. The court had issued an arrest warrant against him on the charge of embezzling money from Chhihapepe of Nawalparasi, Sunrise of Chitwan and Namaste Sahakari of Bardia by illegally taking it to Krishnasar Resort in Bardia. Basnet is also not the owner or saver of any co-operative, just like Raswap Chairman Lamichhane. 

General Manager Jyoti Gurung is absconding in the savings fraud case of Miteri Savings and Loan Cooperative Society of Lalitpur. She is the ex-wife of Congress Vice President Dhanraj Gurung. After learning that about 140 crores of co-operative had been embezzled, the co-operative directors brought together Dhanraj and Jyoti Gurung and held a discussion on December 16, 2076.

Two months later, Dhanraj and Jyoti got divorced in Lalitpur court. But a year later, when Dhanraj took a loan from the cooperative, he mentioned Jyoti Gurung in his wife's name. For that reason, the co-operative directors have been accusing Dhanraj of filing a paper divorce with Jyoti to get immunity from legal action.

The Parliamentary Inquiry Special Committee on misappropriation of cooperative savings also recommended an investigation on Congress Vice President Dhanraj. The police summoned him and took his statement, but the government is being criticized for not conducting a serious investigation.

According to the report of the Parliamentary Investigation Special Committee, the police have arrested 669 people in cooperative fraud in a decade, and 1,540 people are absconding despite the court issuing arrest warrants. Meanwhile, 258 complaints of 24,224 victimized civilians were filed with the police. 111 cases were registered after investigating these complaints and submitting the police report.