The Supreme Court of Nepal has directed the government to establish a relief fund for victims of cooperative frauds, calling it a constitutional duty to protect depositors’ money. The order was issued by a division bench of Justices Kumar Regmi and Megh Raj Pokharel.
The court also recommended bringing cooperatives under a regulatory framework similar to banks, while clarifying they cannot function exactly like banking institutions. The directive comes as the government considers refunding small depositors affected by scams.
So far, 23 cooperatives have been declared problematic, with total liabilities of Rs 39.93 billion owed to depositors across Nepal.
