Government seizes bank defaulters' passports: Report

Following pressure from various fronts to take action against the blacklisted defaulters, the government has decided to implement the cabinet decision to seize passports of 80 blacklisted loan defaulters associated with 27 leading business groups, a newspaper report said.

The Kantipur daily quoted a Finance Ministry source as saying that the government will send formal letters to all concerned today.

The cabinet on December 2006 took the decision of delegating authority to the Finance Ministry to take action against the business houses that have defaulted bank loans of over 50 million rupees.

The paper added that the Finance Ministry took the decision on the basis of names recommended by six leading commercial banks through Nepal Rastra Bank. 80 businessmen have defaulted Rs. 12 billion from domestic banks.

Nepal Bank Limited recommended names of 11 business groups for the passport seizure, while NIC Bank recommended six groups. Similarly, Rastriya Banijya Bank gave four names, Himalayan Bank recommended three, Lumbini Bank two and Nabil Bank recommended one for the same purpose.

Eight borrowers of the Amatya group which owns the Fulbari Hotel Limited, Mahalaxmi Sugar Mills, six borrowers associated with the Biratnagar based Mangturam Group, two borrowers of bankrupt Necon Air among others are losing their passports.

Those willful defaulters are to be restricted from transferring ownership of or selling fixed assets, and from assuming the positions of director or promoter of any company. The defaulters have also been disqualified from trading in treasury bills and savings certificates and from receiving medals and decorations conferred by the State.

However, blacklisted defaulters will be permitted to sell off fixed assets, including treasury bills and saving certificates for the purpose of servicing their outstanding financial liabilities. Likewise, treasury bills and savings certificates owned by defaulters can also be liquidated only for repaying their loan liabilities, the paper further said.

Praful Patel, vice president of the WB for South Asia during his recent visit to Nepal asked the government to take action against the willful defaulters. nepalnews.com pb Feb 18 07