Kathmandu, September 27

The Special Court issued a verdict today seeking jail term and fine against former chairman of Cottage and Small Industry Development Bank (currently Yeti Development Bank) Sita Ram Prasain and four others who have been accused of providing credit against fake documents.

According to Narendra Kesari Pokharel, spokesperson for Special Court, the court has asked the government to penalise Prasain

Rs 3.5 million and imprison him for 10 months.

A bench of Justice Baburam Regmi and Judges Chandiraj Dhakal and Pramod Kumar Shrestha Vaidya has found the accused guilty of providing loans on fake land certificates and citizenship certificate as collateral.

Similarly, the court has ordered the government to fine Him Gurung, another co-accused, a sum of Rs 3.5 million and passed a six-month prison term against him. Likewise, it has asked the government to fine Sunil Pradhan, a former bank employee, and Padam Prasad Khatiwada, an official at Land Revenue Office, Sunsari district, a sum of Rs 10,000 each and sentenced them to a six-month prison term.

Meanwhile, the court has ordered the government to recover the principal amount of Rs seven million and an equal amount of fine from borrower Keshablal Khoshi.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a case against the five accused in 2013.

Meanwhile, the court has given a clean chit to two other accused in the credit misappropriation scam. Former general manager of the aforementioned bank Bhagwat Shrestha and former senior manager Sunil Gurung have been found innocent in the case. The CIAA had claimed that Shrestha and Gurung were involved in the wrong valuation of the collateral.

As per the CIAA investigation, the bankers had repeatedly provided loans on fake documents in collusion with Khatiwada of the Land Revenue Office.

Earlier, Nepal Rastra Bank had also conducted an investigation over the fraud and found the accused to be guilty.