6 May Kathmandu Thousands of victims of Nepal’s long-running cooperative fraud crisis are expected to start receiving repayments from mid-May, bringing some long-awaited relief to depositors who have been fighting for years to recover their savings.
Officials said the repayment process will be managed by a newly created revolving fund by the Problematic Cooperatives Management Committee. The move is part of a slow plan to get money back to people whose deposits were stuck in troubled cooperatives across the country.
💰 Government Starts Collecting Funds
The government has already released around Rs 250 million to help the repayment process while additional funds have been recovered from borrowers associated with troubled cooperatives.
The revolving fund, which comprises of government support and recovered loans, is now said to be worth close to Rs 600 million, officials say.
Officials plan further recovery:
- Cooperative loans in arrears
- Assets of struggling co-ops
- Operator and board member characteristics
The recovery will be used to expand repayments in phases.
👥 Priority for small depositors
The repayment process will begin with small depositors, especially vulnerable groups such as:
- Elderly people
- Unmarried women
- Persons with disability
- Disenfranchised communities
Officials said the first phase will focus on people with savings less than Rs 500,000.
Government data reveals:
- Roughly 76,000 depositors are expected to get refunds
- Total outstanding to be repaid is nearly Rs 46 billion
⚠️Long-time Cooperative Crisis
In recent years, Nepal’s cooperative sector has been in a major crisis after several cooperatives crumbled over allegations of:
- Poor handling of funds
- Scam
- Misuse of depositors’ money
The scandal sparked protests across the country, with victims calling for action and accountability from the government.
There are quite a few high-profile investigations and legal cases involving cooperative fraud still pending in various courts across Nepal.
🏛️ Government Pledges Action
Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Pratibha Rawal said the government is serious about returning depositors’ savings and increasing recovery efforts.
Authorities also issued a warning to borrowers and operators of troubled cooperatives that:
- Names could be released
- Assets could be auctioned off
- Failure to co-operate may lead to legal action
📌 Hope and Care
The announcement has raised hopes among many victims, but experts say it may take some time before payments are made because of the scale of losses.
Many of the affected families had invested…
- Saving for retirement
- Medical expenses
- Earnings from years of service
For some victims, the payment is not just financial relief, but also a rebuilding of trust after years of uncertainty.
📌 Abstract
The government’s decision to start repayments is a major step to deal with the crisis of cooperative frauds in Nepal.
The funds available may not cover all the losses immediately, but the process of repayment is expected to provide relief to thousands of affected depositors and mark a larger push for accountability and financial reform.
Tags: Cooperative Fraud Nepal, Nepal Finance News, Cooperative Victims, Savings Refund Nepal
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