Banking Khabar / As Nepal’s cooperative crisis continues to deepen, thousands of depositors who claim to have been defrauded by troubled cooperatives are increasingly turning to the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) for help, demanding the return of their hard-earned savings.
Victims have even staged sit-in protests at the metropolitan office, expressing frustration over what they describe as the government’s failure to declare several troubled cooperatives as institutions in crisis and take decisive action against those responsible.
According to the Cooperative Department of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, the number of complaints filed by cooperative victims has risen sharply in recent months. A total of 6,300 depositors have officially lodged complaints seeking the recovery of approximately Rs 4.77 billion in savings allegedly trapped in various cooperatives.
The figures underscore the growing magnitude of Nepal’s cooperative sector crisis, which has affected thousands of ordinary citizens, many of whom invested their life savings in institutions they believed to be secure.
Small Savers Hit the Hardest
According to Dhruva Kumar Kafle, Chief of the Cooperative Department at Kathmandu Metropolitan City, the majority of complaints have come from small depositors.
Most victims reportedly have savings ranging between Rs 100,000 and Rs 500,000, amounts that often represent years of hard work, retirement funds, household savings, or emergency reserves for many families.
“The complaints are largely from small savers whose deposits have become inaccessible,” officials say, highlighting the severe financial hardship many victims are currently facing.
Common Complaints Against Cooperatives
The complaints filed with the metropolitan office reveal a pattern of alleged misconduct across several cooperatives.
Victims accuse cooperative operators of refusing to return savings deposits, withholding share investments, shutting down offices without notice, becoming unreachable, and, in some cases, attempting to flee or evade accountability.
Many depositors say they have exhausted all available channels before approaching the metropolitan authority, which has increasingly become a focal point for grievance redressal amid the ongoing crisis.
Metropolitan City Steps In
Based on the complaints received, Kathmandu Metropolitan City has been facilitating discussions with concerned cooperatives, attempting to mediate the return of depositors’ funds and, where necessary, initiating legal procedures.
Officials say the local government is working to provide relief to affected savers while coordinating with regulatory and law enforcement agencies to address more complex cases.
However, given the scale of the crisis and the financial condition of several troubled cooperatives, recovering funds remains a challenging task.
A Crisis Years in the Making
The latest wave of complaints is not the first indication of serious problems within the cooperative sector.
In 2023, Kathmandu Metropolitan City reported receiving complaints from more than 2,000 victims involving 123 cooperatives. In another fiscal year, more than 1,000 complaints were filed against 27 separate cooperatives.
The steady rise in complaints over the years suggests that governance failures, weak oversight, poor risk management, and alleged financial misconduct have been accumulating within the sector for an extended period.
A Warning Sign for Nepal’s Cooperative Sector
With the number of complaints now exceeding 6,300 and claims totaling nearly Rs 4.77 billion, the figures paint a troubling picture of public confidence in Nepal’s cooperative movement.
For thousands of affected families, the issue extends far beyond financial loss. It has become a matter of economic survival, trust, and accountability.
As victims continue to gather at Kathmandu Metropolitan City seeking justice and the return of their savings, the growing queue of complaints serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for stronger regulation, effective enforcement, and comprehensive reforms within Nepal’s cooperative sector.
