Kathmandu, December 8

The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police today apprehended a cooperative operator who had been absconding after being convicted of fraud.

Min Bahadur Basnet (30) of Daman-7, Makwanpur was sentenced to three years in jail and slapped a fine of Rs 3.2 million by the Makwanpur District Court on June 10, 2014 for cheating depositors.

Min Bahadur in cahoots with other operators of Daman-based Palung Saving and Credit Cooperative Limited had lured the locals into depositing money in their cooperative promising them high interests.

The government had acted as a plaintiff in this case. SP Dibesh Lohani said Min Bahadur was nabbed from the capital. “The Kathmandu District Court has sent him to Dilli Bazaar Prison,” he informed.

The cooperative is said to have cheated the depositors of a total of Rs 36.2 million.

A handful of cooperative staffers had embezzled the amount and fled with the cash without carrying out audit of the financial accounts in violation of the Cooperatives Act, 1992.

Earlier, police had arrested Tulasi Kumari Basnet and Hari Basnet, two other defendants in the case. Deposits in cooperatives are are at high risk due to lack of strong mechanism to monitor their transactions, says officials.