Published on 2011-03-27 23:44:58

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=29675

KATHMANDU, March 27: The government has a taken strong exception to the US-based Chase Bank´s act of deducting over one million dollars from a bank account held by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) at the US-based Standard Chartered Bank without the central bank´s approval.

Asim Khatri of Tarala International based in Colorado in the US retrieved the amount from the bank account even as the money he swift-transferred to Nepal had been frozen by anti-money laundering (AML) authority.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari, while addressing the parliament meeting on Sunday, termed the act as unnatural. “The transfer of money from an overseas bank account held by the central bank of any other country is unnatural because an investigation into the same amount is underway,” Adhikari said responding to the lawmakers´ queries. “The entire financial system of the country will be in jeopardy if such an act is given continuity without prior notice.”

Adhikari said the government has formally taken up the issue with the US government through Nepali Embassy in Washington DC and the US Embassy in Kathmandu to ensure that the money will be refunded to NRB.

The government on March 24 corresponded to the US-based Nepali Embassy to take initiatives in this connection. The embassy will hold talks with the US government seeking support to bring the culprits to book. A case against Khatri and his business partner, Chinese national Wu Lixing, for involvement in money laundering is sub judice in Nepal. Khatri had retrieved the money after a New York-based court issued a verdict in his favor.

Khatri and Lixing were running a business through an account at Bhaisepati branch of Nepal Bangladesh (NB) Bank. As their activities were suspicious, the account was frozen as per the instruction of the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) two years ago.

The DRI filed a case against Lixing at the Special Court on February 25 on the charge of money laundering. Meanwhile, Khatri filed a case against NRB, DRI, NB Bank at the US District Court, Southern District of New York for not providing the money to Lixing.

In his petition, Khatri had sought retrieval of the money he paid to Lixing, who has been supplying logistics to Nepal Army and Nepal Police, as the recipient bank in Nepal -- NB Bank -- did not pay the money to Lixing.