Department of Revenue Investigation has formed a five-member committee to investigate Hundi– an illigal money transfer system– business in the country.

The committee has mandated to carry out the detail study to examine the trend of Hundi and its controlling measures, director general of the department Shanta Bahadur Shrestha said adding that officials from Nepal Rastra Bank and Nepal Police are included in the investigation team. 

“The committee has been formed to control underground Hundi business,” he said, “Hundi has been posing challenges to formalise national economy since transfer of money through informal channel has increased.”

“Misappropriation of foreign currency and capital flight are major problem the country is facing through Hundi,” he reiterated. The department has gathered some useful tiff-offs from Rana Das, a Hundi business operator, who was arrested from Lazimpat, Kathmandu in September. 

Hundi has been emerging as a serious threat to national economy equal to fake Value Added Tax (VAT) bill scam and recently revealed fake customs declaration form cases, according to the department. Hundi is an underground banking system that allows money transfer without leaving any paper trails because there is no contract, bank statements or transaction record. It is also known as a Hawala in neighbouring India.

Meanwhile, the department has found one more evidence of capital flight from the country. According to the department, a Nepali involved in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has bought home in Hong Kong. “Bhola Kishor Dangol of Global Data Network Service has purchased home in Hong Kong through the income of VoIP,” an officer at Department of Revenue Investigation said. 

It was exposed after the department opened an email from his confiscated computer. Dangol is at large at present. 

The department believed that peoples involved in Hundi have been promoting capital flight of millions of rupee from the country every year. However, there is no official record of total capital flight from the country till date.

Published on: 23 October 2011 | The Himalayan Times