NPR 20.40 Billion Missing: Serious Allegations Filed Against Nepal Bank Limited

A major financial scandal has surfaced involving Nepal Bank Limited, as a formal complaint has been lodged with the Office of the Auditor General, alleging that NPR 20.40 billion has mysteriously gone missing. The complaint, filed by shareholder Angraj Bharti, has also been submitted to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), drawing nationwide attention.

The allegations claim that loans sanctioned under the "Small and Medium Enterprises (SME)" category during the months of Chaitra 2074 BS and Asar 2075 BS were misused or disappeared from the banking system records.

This development comes right after the CIAA filed corruption charges on Monday against the bank’s former chairman, Dr. Chandrabahadur Adhikari, and four others for allegedly accepting a bribe of NPR 1.9 million. Now, a new complaint involving missing funds amounting to over NPR 20 billion has further escalated concerns about the bank's financial integrity.

According to Bharti’s complaint:

• In Falgun 2074 BS, Nepal Bank's SME loan ceiling stood at NPR 33.27 billion.

• However, the actual disbursed amount was only NPR 31.48 billion.

• By Chaitra of the same year, the loan ceiling dropped to NPR 22.45 billion, while the actual loan amount fell to just NPR 21.05 billion.

• Meanwhile, the Nepal Rastra Bank's official data shows an overall credit increase of just NPR 510 million during the same period.

This suggests a suspicious shortfall of NPR 10.43 billion within the SME loan segment, which Bharti claims is a result of deliberate embezzlement involving bank directors, the CEO, and business insiders.

The complaint further alleges that in Asar 2075 BS, compared to the previous month of Jestha, another NPR 9.96 billion disappeared under similar circumstances. When added together, the total missing loan amount over these two fiscal years reaches NPR 20.40 billion.

The complaint urges immediate investigation and legal action against all individuals involved in the alleged loan misappropriation. The case has intensified public scrutiny of Nepal Bank’s loan distribution practices and raised serious questions about governance and oversight in Nepal’s financial institutions.

As of now, the CIAA has not publicly responded to the new complaint. But if substantiated, this could become one of the largest banking frauds in Nepal's history. The pressure is mounting for swift and transparent investigations to restore public confidence in the banking sector.