Blind Singer’s 7 Million NPR Trapped as Evertrust Cooperative Management Flees, Officials Abscond
The problems in the cooperative sector are becoming increasingly complicated, with Evertrust Savings and Credit Cooperative Ltd. serving as a prime example. Approximately 650 depositors at Evertrust Cooperative have filed complaints after being unable to withdraw their funds, with claims totaling around NPR 219.2 million. The cooperative’s management has been selling off assets and fleeing, while the regulatory authority has obtained only partial information about the institution.
Kathmandu, 29 Chaitra — The cooperative sector in Nepal is facing severe challenges, which threaten its overall stability. With problems escalating, the sector is in crisis. Members of cooperatives, including poor, disabled, and vulnerable groups, have been defrauded as cooperative leaders abscond, leaving depositors unable to retrieve their money. Furthermore, the institutions’ records remain unclear. Evertrust Savings and Credit Cooperative Ltd. exemplifies these issues.
Although the cooperative sector is considered the fourth pillar of the economy, the emerging problems now impact the broader economic landscape. Former Secretary Gopinath Mainali noted this concern. The unresolved grievances of depositors have also spurred growing demands for protest actions. The government initially declared 23 cooperatives as troubled, yet their conditions have not improved. Previously, the National Cooperative Authority recommended declaring 16 cooperatives troubled, but the process was undone before completion.
The inability of cooperatives to return depositors’ money, the fleeing of management, and the lack of concrete asset and liability details have worsened the sector’s complexity. Evertrust, located in Kathmandu Metropolitan City Ward 7, is similarly mired. Authorities have been unable to fully verify details about the cooperative’s share capital. According to an official, approximately five visually impaired individuals had collected around NPR 7 million by performing songs on the street, only for those funds to become trapped in the cooperative.
One Evertrust depositor, Santosh Pant, shared his difficulties. He had placed an amount from a bank loan, secured to send his daughter abroad, in the cooperative. Pant said, “Due to visa delays, I took out a bank-approved loan and deposited the funds in a friend’s cooperative institution, but it got stuck. About NPR 4 million is trapped in Evertrust.” Following this loss, Pant has become a spokesperson for the cooperative’s victims. He explained that the management has fled, some detained by police, and though a few released on bail, others escaped after selling off cooperative assets.
According to Pant, although the cooperative claimed a share capital of about NPR 530 million, the management invested less than NPR 100 million in the institution. Problems surfaced in 2021 (2078 BS), when Deepak Thapa Magar was the chairman. His wife, Babita Dangol, was vice-chair, and Kanchharam Dangol the secretary. The treasurer was Vishnu Prasad Phuyal, with members Kumar Rana, Ramlal Maharjan, and Amarbai Bajracharya. While some executives have been arrested, currently only the treasurer remains in custody, and others released on bail.
Victims state that management sold off assets and fled, with the chairman still at large. Although troubles became evident at the beginning of 2021, management tried to recover loans but failed to return deposits before absconding. Some officials were arrested due to complaints and bounced checks; after police and court procedures, some were released on bail but later fled again by selling assets.
An authority official stated that irregularities worth approximately NPR 400 million have been detected within Evertrust. So far, about 650 depositors have filed complaints, with demands amounting to NPR 219.23 million. Complete details regarding total savings and loan investments are unavailable, with the authority having received only partial data. Since individuals are both borrowers and depositors, determining exact figures is difficult. Additionally, the officials responsible have also fled, complicating ongoing investigations, according to the regulatory authority.