Tulasi Cooperative Scam: Directors Accused of Embezzling Rs 1.45 Billion

Biratnagar. The Problematic Cooperative Management Committee made public the names of major debtors of problematic cooperatives on May 6. The list of major debtors of 10 cooperatives declared problematic, also included the names of 10 debtors from Biratnagar's Tulasi Multipurpose Cooperative Institution.

These include Tulasi Motor Pump of Biratnagar 9, Nutraj Agro Pvt. Ltd. of Biratnagar 2, Tulasi Krishi Anusandhan Kendra, Gorkha Tea & Coffee Industries Pvt. Ltd., Ashok Kumar Agarwal of Biratnagar 2, Ashok Kumar Agarwal (2), Chhatra Bahadur Bhattarai of Biratnagar 3, Mehrman Limbu Izam, Ujyan Kumari Rajwanshi and Bhagmati Kamat.

The main reason for the committee to make these names public is to urge them to repay the loans and to recover the loans legally if they do not repay. However, four of the major debtors of Tulasi Multipurpose Cooperative are companies opened with the cooperative's own savings. The then chairman Kedar Nath Sharma had disbursed more than 44 crore rupees through the cooperative to such companies alone.

The current chairman of the problematic Tulasi Multipurpose Cooperative Institution, Rudra Adhikari, said that the possibility of recovering such loans is weak. Instead, he emphasized the need to find the savings hidden by the then chairman Sharma in various places. Adhikari stated that if the government confiscates and sells those assets, it would be possible to return about one and a half billion rupees to the depositors.

He said that the major debtors publicized by the government are not actually debtors but private companies opened with the cooperative's money. He said, 'The loan given to their companies, that company itself has failed, everything is lost, so there is no question of getting it back. The matter of collecting from debtors and giving it is not possible, it is impossible.'

According to Chairman Adhikari, Tulasi Motor Pump located in Milan Chowk, Biratnagar, has been moved to Butwal after changing its name after Kedar Nath Sharma went to jail. 'He has taken that motor pump to Butwal. After KN Sharma went to jail, other shareholders have been running it as Lumbini Motor Pump, separating it from Tulasi,' Adhikari added. 'Tulasi Cooperative has invested 25 crore rupees in that motor pump. The government must regulate it and recover the money.' Currently, there are a few security guards at the motor pump located in Milan Chowk. Sources claim that although it is deserted, the office is still operating.

Similarly, another debtor institution publicized by the government is 'Nutraj Agro Pvt. Ltd.'. A loan of 4 crore 28 lakh has been disbursed from Tulasi Cooperative to that institution. Similarly, 4 crore has been disbursed in the name of Tulasi Krishi Anusandhan Kendra and more than 2 crore 15 lakh to Gorkha Tea & Coffee Industries Pvt. Ltd. The chairman of all these companies is Kedar Nath Sharma himself. In the previous investigation report, it was mentioned that investments of 5 crore 67 lakh in Shikhar Organization Pvt. Ltd. and 1 crore 42 lakh in Shiv Shikhar Organization Pvt. Ltd. were made, which were not publicized by the government.

According to the current chairman Adhikari, land plotting has been done on a large area in Inaruwa, Sunsari by misappropriating cooperative funds, and Kedar Nath Sharma has direct involvement there. 'Land plotting of about one to two hundred bighas has been done in Inaruwa. That belongs to KN Sharma,' Adhikari said. 'If that land is settled, it will be roughly enough to return 1 billion 45 crore rupees to our depositors.' Adhikari claimed that investments were made secretly in the names of relatives and kin in the lands. He said that many things will be found upon investigation.

According to Chairman Adhikari, there are very few actual debtors of the cooperative. 'We don't have many debtors from the cooperative itself. At most, it might be around 8-10 crore. The rest has been invested illegally in its own companies,' he said. Adhikari stated that although the Cooperative Management Committee has started work, the work has been slow due to the retirement of employees. 'The member secretary and employees there have all retired, I don't know anyone there now. The government has not conducted any investigation with us, and we are also sitting quietly,' he complained.

• Sharma in Jail

Cooperative Chairman Kedar Nath Sharma has already been sentenced to six years in prison by the Morang District Court. Morang Court had ordered Sharma to pay a fine of 67 crore 59 lakh, the same amount as the principal, and 2 crore 70 lakh 36 thousand 8 hundred 50 rupees to the relief fund in Baishakh 2082.

Cooperative Secretary Sabina Neupane and Manager Sandeep Khawas have each been sentenced to 2 years and 2 months in prison. Khawas has been ordered to pay a principal of 27 lakh and a fine of 27 lakh. He has been ordered to deposit 1 lakh 8 thousand in the victim relief fund. In the case of cooperative secretary Neupane, no principal or fine has been specified. The court has ordered to deposit 6 hundred rupees in the victim relief fund.

A case was filed on Chaitra 12, 2079 against cooperative chairman Sharma and eight others on the charge of 'embezzling cooperative funds'.

This cooperative, with its central office in Biratnagar, had branches in Damak of Jhapa, Gaighat of Udaypur, and Golbazar of Siraha, and is accused of embezzling 1 billion 45 crore 75 lakh 45 thousand rupees from depositors. The cooperative, with its main office in Biratnagar Metropolitan City 2, has a total of 21,713 members across the country, with more than four thousand members in Biratnagar alone.

The office of this cooperative, established in 2052 BS, has been closed since Falgun 2079 BS. The cooperative used to offer attractive financial benefits such as interest rates above 15%, bonuses, etc., for savings in accounts like child savings, senior citizen savings, future security savings, super pension savings, fixed deposits, employee current savings, special savings, general savings, and for becoming a shareholder. Employees of the cooperative say that about 66 crore has been collected as savings from depositors in Biratnagar alone. Tulasi Cooperative is a large cooperative in Biratnagar.

The charge sheet filed by the District Government Attorney's Office Morang in the court mentions that Sharma embezzled 16 crore 97 lakh 42 thousand 540 rupees without registering it in the cooperative's records. Based on sub-sections (b), (d), (e), (f), and (j) of section 122 of the Cooperative Act 2074, they were charged with imprisonment ranging from 6 to 8 years, and based on sub-section (1) clauses (d) and (5), a claim was filed for the recovery of the principal amount of 50 crore 88 lakh 78 thousand 728 rupees to the claimants and 16 crore 97 lakh 42 thousand 540 rupees to Tulasi Cooperative Institution, along with fines and imprisonment proportional to the principal amount.