Kathmandu, Apr. 7
Finance Minister
Janardan Sharma has said that his attention has been drawn to the news report published
by a national daily mentioning his name.
He said in a
statement on Thursday that the news item titled "Finance Minister is
active in releasing Rs. 400 million suspicious money sent from the United States
of America" was not true, but he was committed to implement the policy of
facilitating the inflow of foreign investment.
In an
investigation into Prithvi Shah's attempt to bring in US$ 1.2 million from the
United States, the Department of Money Laundering Investigation (DMLI) had
written a letter to the Nepal Rastra Bank on January 3 stating that the bank
accounts should not be blocked since there was no banking offence in the act.
The department
had also written to the central bank and other banks on January 25 to unblock the
bank accounts maintained in Shah's name. However, according to the department's
correspondence, Shah had submitted a petition to Finance Minister Sharma on March
25 after the bank accounts were not cleared.
On the basis of
Shah's application and various letters from the DMLI, the Finance Minister said
that the bank accounts should be freed without further ado and that the task should
be facilitated to attract foreign investment.
He clarified
that it was his responsibility to implement the government's policy of
encouraging foreign investment. He also urged all to create an environment
conducive to foreign investment.
Shah, who was
dragged into the investigation, expressed regret over his involvement in the
incident that embarrassed the FM when he requested the latter for justice.
"I have been fighting for justice for two years. Expressing gratitude for
the assistance rendered by the Finance Minister in accordance with the
prevailing law, I regret over various insults inflicted on him,” said Shah.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 8 April 2022.
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