The parliamentary special inquiry committee formed to investigate cooperative fraud has concluded that the Rs 650 million injected into Gorkha Media was completely from cooperatives and shares of the company were traded on the basis of forged documents.
The committee's report was submitted to the House of Representatives (HoR) on Monday. Pointing that the shares were traded on the basis of forged documents the committee has recommended the government to draw attention of the authorities concerned to determine whether the payment process in transfer of shares was completed and make mandatory provision to pay tax accordingly, and also make necessary and appropriate arrangements after studying the legal provisions related to sweat shares.
It has also recommended the government for legal action against everyone involved in transfer of money to Gorkha Media from cooperatives including Suryadarshan from Pokhara, Supreme from Butwal, Swarnalaxmi from Kathmandu, Sahara Chitwan from Chitwan and Sanopaila from Birgunj.
It has held GB Rai, Kumar Ramtel, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane, who was the then managing director, and Chhabi Lal Joshi responsible for the fraud as share-holders of Gorkha Media pointing that those who are signatories in the company's bank accounts and are involved in financial mobilization of the company must assume responsibility for that.
"Every company has its own objective and spirit. Promoters and share-holders are the ones with main responsibilities in such institutions. Those in the role and responsibility as share-holders, promoters and managing director cannot be allowed to not be responsible and accountable for the money received by the company," the report has stressed to hold Lamichhane and others accountable in the fraud.
The HoR had formed the committee on May 28 after Nepali Congress demanded formation of a parliamentary investigation committee saying Lamichhane, who was then deputy prime minister and home minister, was involved in the misappropriation of cooperative savings. The HoR had initially given the committee three months and later extended its tenure by 15 days.
CPN-UML lawmaker Surya Thapa heads the seven-member parliamentary inquiry committee. Lawmakers from NC, UML, CPN (Maoist Center), RSP and Rastriya Prajatantra Party are also on the committee.
The parliamentary committee had also interrogated Lamichhane, the then managing director of Gorkha Media, for about 10 hours. Lamichhane had told the committee that he had no knowledge of savings of cooperatives having gone to Gorkha Media.
He had claimed that he is not the Rabi Lamichhane who borrowed from Suryadarshan and Supreme cooperatives while answering 50 questions asked by the parliamentary inquiry committee.
"I am not the Rabi Lamichhane who took loans from Suryadarshan Cooperative of Pokhara and and Supreme Cooperative of Butwal. My citizenship, properties or documents have not been used. I do not know if GB Rai made fake loans," member of the committee lawmaker Ishwari Neupane quoted him as saying.
He had also claimed that he knew that Gorkha Media Network Chairman GB Rai was involved in so many cooperatives only months after he quit the company and became lawmaker winning election. "I knew that he had companies like Nature Herbs. I only knew that GB who owned such big companies and immense wealth could bring money from anywhere," Neupane had quoted Lamichhane as adding.
She had revealed that he answered 'I don't know' to most of the questions posed to him. "He just said that he went to Gorkha Media Network only to oversee operation with monthly salary of Rs 500,000 and other perks and benefits. He claimed that GB Rai gave him money and sent the same money to the account of Gorkha Media Network for shares as there is no provision of sweat share in the law," Neupane had said.
When asked about documents he submitted to the Office of the Company Registrar (OCR) while getting 15 percent of shares of Galaxy 4K Television owned by Gorkha Media and later transferring it he responded that the documents were made in a way that it is done in practice. "I didn't put money while getting shares nor did I get anything while quitting it," Neupane had quoted him as stating.
During a press conference Lamichhane held on January 22 to clear his name in the scam he had implied that the OCR was duped while transferring 15 percent of shares of Galaxy 4K Television owned by him to GB Rai.
Ownership of the shares were transferred by submitting a voucher proving transfer of Rs 18 million by Rai to Lamichhane's bank account. But Lamichhane in the press conference claimed that the amount was not deposited in his bank account after a check slip showing him to have taken Rs 18 million from Rai while quitting Galaxy 4k was published.
Lamichhane also produced a letter issued by Global IME Bank to support his claims that the amount was not deposited into his account. That letter also establishes that the OCR was duped while transferring ownership of the shares of Galaxy.
An officer with the OCR told Setopati that ownership of shares can be transferred only with the consent of seller, and submission of a bank voucher if the shares traded are worth over Rs 1 million.
But Lamichhane did not reveal whether he was aware about issue of a check with insufficient fund during transfer of shares, and he was solely focused on claiming that the amount was not deposited into his bank account during the press conference.
* Earlier, the committee’s chairman Surya Thapa had said during the House of Representatives meeting that Rs 850 million had been transferred to Gorkha Media from cooperatives. But a copy of the committee’s report received by Setopati mentions the amount as Rs 650 million. This story has been updated with the correct amount.
