Sunday, November 17, 2019

Supreme Court orders Shrestha’s release on bail

The Supreme Court (SC) today ordered Nepal Police to release former chief executive officer (CEO) of Bank of Kathmandu (BoK) Ajaya Shrestha on bail of Rs 10 million.
The double bench of SC Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Kumar Regmi ordered the release of the banker scrapping the order of Patan High Court to keep him in the police custody. According to Supreme Court, Shrestha will be released after the bail amount will be deposited. Shrestha had registered a writ against the decision of Patan High Court at the Supreme Court.
Nepal Police – on September 22 – had arrested Shrestha and 10 others in a banking offence case worth millions. The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police had arrested five bankers of BoK and six others over BoK issuing loans based on fake collateral and forged documents produced by loan applicants.
Surendra Shrestha of Jhapa had – in 2015 – acquired loan worth Rs 500 million from Bank of Kathmandu. The bank started an investigation after Shrestha did not pay back the loan. During the investigation, the bank uncovered that the loan amount was issued on the basis of fake land registration document. It was also revealed that the loan was issued on the basis of fake documents of land situated close to a river in Jhapa.
The bank then went to CIB and registered the complaints, and 11 bankers including Ajaya Shrestha were arrested. Nepal Bankers’ Association (NBA) has criticized the arrest of Shrestha, who is regarded as one of the most humble bankers in the banking community.

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