Metropolitan Police Circle Office, Lainchaur on Monday raided Debu Travel Agency located on the 4th floor of Kathmandu Mall and arrested two persons for running the illegal Hundi business (money transfer via illegal channels).

 

Tipped off by a special source, a police squad deployed from the Circle's office raided the agency and arrested Laba Nepal, 51, of Chandol of Kathmandu and Dal Bahadur Pun, 30, of Banke district with Rs 1.2 million in cash and check of Rs 5 million. The police also found signals and messages used for illegal money transfer. The arrested were in connection with agents based in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Australia for receiving remittance from those countries through the back door.  

 

According to DSP Somendra Singh Rathour, chief of the Metropolitan Police Circle Office, Lainchaur, the travel agency which had been operating since the last three years had made several illegal transaction of money.

 

Police officials say that the business of transferring money through illegal channel is on the rise in the recent years, which is in violation to the terms and conditions of the Nepal Rastra Bank.  

 

“This has been causing huge loss to the national economy,” SSP Sarbendra Khanal of the Metropolitan Police Crime Division said.  

 

In the past few months, the division alone had raided several money transfer agencies and related institutions and arrested about 12 people involved in the illegal business with millions of rupees from different places in Kathmandu. Majority of them were from New Road, Thamel, Chhetrapati and Sundhara. 

 

Following complaints from various walks of life, the division and the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) had come up with special operation to crack down on the illegal business. 

 

During investigation, the police have established the Hundi business to various crimes as it was hard for anyone to track the money transfer. 

 

The arrested will be sent to the Department of Revenue Collection for further action.