Shiv Shikhar Cooperative distributes goods instead of savings to small investors

Dhangadhi—The troubled Shiv Shikhar Multipurpose Cooperative has begun distributing goods to its depositors in lieu of returning their savings.

Faced with financial turmoil, the cooperative’s management announced that starting Thursday, they would provide goods to savers who have deposited up to 20,000 rupees.

Uddhav Timilsina, a member of the Cooperative Management Committee, stated that in the first phase, physical goods would be distributed to depositors with smaller savings.

The committee is currently focused on asset management and liability settlement following the government's declaration of the cooperative’s insolvency on 25 Bhadra 2080. Earlier, on 18th Paush 2080, a public notice had been issued calling for savers to submit claims online.

By 30th Ashar 2081, the cooperative began offering goods equivalent to the savings amount to those depositors who opted for this in Bhimdatta Municipality. A total of 285 savers have applied in Bhimdatta Municipality, and Timilsina confirmed that they would soon receive goods matching the value of their deposits.

He also noted that larger savers would be compensated in phases over time. The Cooperative Management Committee visited Kanchanpur on Wednesday to investigate the ongoing fraud case involving Shiv Shikhar Multipurpose Cooperative.

The cooperative, which had expanded its branch offices to Mahendranagar, Belauri, and Punarwas, is currently under scrutiny after embezzling 3,197 million rupees from 3,671 depositors.

In November of last year, Kanchanpur police arrested key individuals associated with the cooperative, including Geeta Sharma, Kedar Sharma, Pushkar Mall, and Amisraj Bhandari. The accused had been operating the cooperative for four years, amassing over 310 million rupees in savings from more than 3,500 people, which they allegedly misappropriated. The investigation into the fraud is ongoing.