It has been found that Sudan Gurung purchased shares worth more than Rs 5 million in the stock market within about 50 days – up until five days before he was appointed home minister – after the Gen Z movement.
According to details obtained by Setopati, Gurung bought shares worth Rs 5,335,580 between January 29 and March 22.
This shows that he began purchasing shares in the secondary market about five months after the Gen Z movement. Records show him actively buying shares after the election held on March 5, up until five days before being appointed home minister.
Additionally, it has emerged that Gurung is a promoter shareholder with an investment of Rs 5 million in at least two micro-insurance companies linked to a group led by Deepak Bhatta, who was arrested in connection with a money laundering investigation.
However, Gurung has not clearly disclosed details of these shares in his asset declaration.
Gurung, who joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party alongside Balen Shah, won the election from Gorkha-1 constituency on March 5. After the party secured nearly a two-thirds majority, a government was formed under Shah’s leadership on March 27. Gurung was sworn in as home minister the same day.
According to share transaction records obtained by Setopati, Gurung purchased shares worth over Rs 5.3 million in the secondary market in 10 transactions.
His first purchase was on January 29, when he bought shares worth Rs 790,000, followed by another purchase of shares worth Rs 788,000 the same day. According to the records, he bought shares worth Rs 1,617,000 on February 10.
His fourth round of purchases occurred on March 22 – just five days before becoming home minister – when he made seven transactions in a single day. He purchased shares worth Rs 915,000, Rs 152,610, Rs 183,120, Rs 22,920, Rs 76,495, Rs 45,900, and Rs 742,535 that day.
All these transactions were conducted through a broker company called Naasa Securities. According to a source at the firm, all the shares Gurung bought were of one company called NRN Infrastructure and Investment Limited. He had never previously bought shares in the secondary market.
In his asset declaration as home minister, Gurung also disclosed shares in three companies: 30,000 shares worth Rs 3 million in Hope Holdings Pvt Ltd, 57,000 shares worth Rs 5.7 million in Lagom Premium Apartments, and 70,000 shares worth Rs 7 million in Adventure Villa Pvt Ltd.
These companies are not listed on the stock exchange.
Besides that, he declared ownership of shares worth Rs 27,456,200 in companies traded on the stock market. However, he did not specify which companies these were.
Of the shares not fully disclosed by Gurung, Rs 5,335,580 worth of shares were purchased in the secondary market, while the remaining shares worth Rs 22,122,620 were acquired through primary market investments or as promoter shares. The source claims that Gurung holds more promoter shares than primary market shares.
It has also emerged that Gurung is a shareholder in at least two micro-insurance companies – Star Micro Insurance Company Limited and Liberty Micro Insurance – where Bhatta and the Shanker Group have investments. Himal Khabar reported sometime ago that Gurung holds shares worth Rs 2.5 million in each of these two companies. Diyo Post also published a report on Sunday confirming his Rs 2.5 million investment in Star Micro Insurance.
It has already been revealed that Bhatta and the Shanker Group are involved in Hami Nepal, an organization run by Gurung.
Gurung himself previously disclosed that Bhatta (chairman of Infinity Holdings), Sulav Agrawal (vice-chairman of Shanker Group), and Sahil Agrawal (managing director of Shanker Group) had provided support to his organization.
Gurung claims that he was involved in various businesses in the past but is now fully engaged in social work. However, questions have been raised about the source of his funds for such large investments. He has said that he bought the shares with money from business, ancestral property, and investments.
Attempts to contact Gurung regarding his share purchases in the secondary market prior to joining the government, his investments in Bhatta’s companies, and their business partnership were unsuccessful.
Setopati also sent him a message with five questions, but he has not responded.
Here are the five questions sent to Gurung:
1. It has been found that you were buying shares after the Gen Z movement and until five days before the formation of the government. What do you say about that? What is the source of this income? Is it legal and transparent?
2. Your shares appear in two companies (Star Micro Insurance and Liberty Micro Insurance) owned by Deepak Bhatta, who was arrested during a money laundering investigation. Why?
3. Do you hold shares in any other companies owned by Deepak Bhatta?
4. When did your business partnership with Deepak Bhatta begin?
5. Are the details regarding shares in the asset details you made public after becoming home minister complete or incomplete? If they are incomplete, why did you not disclose full details?
