By Narayan Prasad Mishra
Nepal has a variety of financial institutions, including commercial banks, development banks, agricultural development banks, finance companies, microfinance companies and numerous cooperative organizations. These institutions are all established under government regulations and operate within legal frameworks. While each category of financial institution may have different objectives, the general public does not need to be concerned with these distinctions when depositing money. People expect financial institutions—regardless of their classification—to be trustworthy, safe, and regulated.
It is well known that thousands of savings and credit cooperative organizations operate across Nepal, functioning like banks—collecting deposits and issuing loans. The government agencies—including the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Cooperatives, Nepal Rastra Bank, and the Federal Cooperative Department—never warned the public or stopped cooperatives from operating like banks. Both educated and uneducated individuals trusted these institutions, believing them to be as secure as banks, as they were seen in all corners of villages and cities.
After millions were defrauded, these very officials absurdly claimed that depositors were ‘not supposed to deposit money in cooperatives like banks. At the same time, they also argued that cooperatives should have had “members” rather than “clients”—a deceptive and dishonest justification to hide their weaknesses and faults, which were not in practice. It is undeniable that if cooperatives were not supposed to function this way, the government could not have allowed it for so long.
According to Gorkhapatra Daily (July 16 2023, Asar 31, 2080), 14,000 out of 32,000 cooperative organizations have defaulted, affecting 73 lakh depositors and involving a staggering Rs 65 billion. These individuals, burdened by pain, suffering, and anxiety, are demanding the return of their hard-earned deposits with interest. As one among the many lakhs of cooperative victims, I understand the pain and suffering of millions. Over the years, I have written extensively in *People’s Review*, urging action against these financial criminals, with special reference to the Civil Savings and Credit Cooperative Ltd run by Ichha Raj Tamang, the operator and UML Ex-Parliamentarian who has been in prison for the last few years. Some of my past articles include:
1. “Developer, Housing, Iccha Raj Tamang, and Me”– December 29, 2021
2. “End Anomalies in the Cooperative Sector” – February 1, 2022
3. “The Judicial Audio Tape Scandal and Its Reform”– July 6, 2022
4. “Cooperative Organizations’ Scam, People’s Suffering, and Protest” – June 21, 2023
I wrote these articles based on my deep experience of unbearable pain and suffering. I do not know how much my articles attracted our government’s attention to this crisis and opened its eyes and ears. Regardless of technicalities and arguments, no one in a civilized society has the right to cheat people. Everyone agrees that cheaters must be punished, and victims of fraud must receive justice.
Depositors entrusted their money to **government-registered** organizations. These organizations have official records, and depositors hold receipts and statements. This is not a legal grey area—it is a straightforward case of fraud. The CBI investigation confirmed that most cooperative operators are frauds, having committed blatant irregularities against cooperative laws. Yet, depositors were forced into lengthy, humiliating legal battles while the government shirked responsibility. Due to the government’s inaction, victims formed the Cooperative Victims’ Struggle Committee (Nepal) under the leadership of Kushlav K. C., its President. They have protested in Maitighar, Thapathali, multiple times over the last few years, demanding the return of their money with the principal and interest according to the law of the land.
In this context, I wholeheartedly admire Mr. Kushlav K.C. for his wise, dynamic, and unwavering leadership—marked by courage, resilience, and selflessness—as he risks his life for the cause of millions of victims.
A picture of the cooperative protest in Kathmandu
Since then, millions of victims have been crying for justice, yet the government has taken no effective action beyond opening some offices to address the issue. As a result, dozens of sick and elderly, poor, and economically weak individuals have died without food and medicine, consumed by grief and pain. Millions are suffering without help, enduring unbearable distress and anxiety, wondering whether they will get their money back before they die because of the sluggishness of the government’s action. One can easily understand how pathetic and miserable this situation is if one has a good heart, kindness, love, and mercy toward the victims. Any compassionate individual would recognize this as a grave injustice.
It is an undeniable truth that this is a burning issue in the country, involving justice for millions of people. It is also a fact that it is the utmost duty of a responsible government to deliver justice to the victims without delay. I urge all national and international organizations involved in the global cooperative movement to take this issue seriously and call on our government to take immediate and effective action without delay.
The victims hope to receive justice without delay when they hear our Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli’s public speeches, whether in parliament or elsewhere. He appears to be full of wisdom and understanding—active and dynamic, honest and intelligent, well-acquainted with the people’s problems, and always eager to solve them. Compared to any other leader in our country, he presents himself as a man of action, intolerant of injustice, irregularities, and corruption. His firm statements and strong determination not to engage in or tolerate corruption give victims hope. I love his speeches and admire his pleasant oratory, which is full of wit and humor, with engaging humorous Nepali proverbs.
I assume that our PM is fully aware of the cooperative crisis mentioned above. However, he has yet to take decisive action to deliver justice to the millions of cooperative victims—an urgent and necessary issue, especially for a country recently placed on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global anti-money laundering watchdog.
I believe the FATF will not remove our country from the grey list unless our government delivers justice to the 7.3 million cooperative victims by returning their stolen money and imposing severe punishment on the perpetrators. Otherwise, it may even move us to the blacklist.
In this context, I recall the U.S. DOGE office (The New Department of Government Efficiency), created by President Donald Trump through an executive order within the Executive Office of the President to slash federal spending. Spearheaded by Musk, DOGE moved rapidly through federal agencies, implementing drastic cost-cutting measures such as eliminating thousands of federal jobs, shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development, and gaining access to the Treasury Department’s vast payment systems.
While many of its decisions are controversial, I appreciate DOGE’s spirit, swift action, and efficiency. It clearly demonstrates the importance of such an office—and the vision behind it—for a leader committed to radical change and rapid progress. I strongly believe Nepal should establish a similar office to eliminate the extraordinarily slow bureaucratic processes in government institutions, ensuring swift justice and better welfare for victims. If the government is truly committed to eradicating corruption and maintaining zero tolerance, such a mechanism is essential.
I hope our Prime Minister will take action in line with his admirable speeches regarding the injustice faced by cooperative victims by establishing an office like DOGE and empowering it with full administrative, executive, and judicial authority—enacting new laws and rules if necessary. I also hope that this office will deliver justice to cooperative victims without delay by compelling the fraudulent cooperatives to return depositors’ money within a strict timeframe or confiscate their assets without unnecessary legal delays. This should include locating hidden properties, whether buried underground, stashed abroad, or transferred to family members and associates.
I humbly urge our PM to take the action I have proposed. I hope our government actively protects its people from fraud and takes effective action—not just words—to earn genuine goodwill, admiration, and appreciation from one-third of its population.
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