Sumeru Cooperative victims seek govt action

By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, May 9: Depositors of Sumeru Savings and Credit Cooperative Ltd. have accused the cooperative’s board of directors of orchestrating large-scale financial fraud and organised embezzlement. 

At a press conference held on Thursday at Sanchar Dabali, victims demanded stringent government action and immediate return of Rs. 15.6 billion in 

misappropriated savings.

Former Inspector General of Police Sarbendra Khanal, speaking at the event, alleged that the cooperative’s leadership defrauded hundreds of thousands of depositors. 

Khanal criticised the government’s passive stance, stating that such inaction has emboldened the perpetrators.

“The government must adopt a hardline stance to ensure the return of depositors’ savings. The directors have systematically misused the funds in an organised manner. Even if it requires incarceration, the government must recover the misused money,” Khanal said. Another victim, Balaram Rajbhandari, echoed similar sentiments, asserting that the government's unwillingness to intervene is the primary reason why depositors have yet to receive their savings. 

“The very individuals responsible for defrauding public funds are freely roaming among us. The government’s failure to prosecute them has only encouraged further fraud,” Rajbhandari added.

Despite the cooperative already being declared a ‘troubled entity’ due to massive financial irregularities, Rajbhandari revealed that the board members have filed legal petitions in an attempt to reverse the petition. He alleged that the directors are using depositors’ own misappropriated funds to hire at least 14 legal professionals to fight their case.

“They are even submitting forged signatures of fictitious depositors to mislead the court and subvert justice,” Rajbhandari claimed. “For two years, we’ve raised our voices for savings security. Now, instead of accountability, the directors are exploiting the legal system to continue the deception.”

Financial crime investigator and victim Sunil Sthapit presented detailed evidence of the organised nature of the embezzlement. He alleged that successive boards of directors, starting with former chair Bharat Maharjan, engaged in collusive financial misconduct aimed at looting public savings.

“Although Maharjan had officially resigned in 2019, he was present at the board meeting on January 6, 2023, which illegally invested Rs. 3.39 billion of depositors’ funds into a private college,” Sthapit said.

“Further, he authorised the transfer of Sumeru Developers’ land to Sunil Dangol from the UK on April 26, 2024, despite claiming no managerial role.”

“If Maharjan had indeed resigned, how could he legally authorise land transactions five years later? This is itself a case of an organised financial crime,” he stated.

Victim Rita Giri emphasised the psychological and financial trauma suffered by depositors, many of whom saved their earnings through hard labour. “While we toiled to save our money, the directors lived in luxury with it. The fraudsters must be brought within the ambit of law,” she demanded.

In addition, the victims dismissed rumours involving Raj Bahadur Singh’s alleged ownership of the cooperative, asserting instead that Singh was introduced as part of a broader deception orchestrated by the board members to confuse and mislead depositors.

The victims continue to demand that the government take immediate legal and financial action to safeguard the interests of common citizens and restore public confidence in cooperative institutions.