KATHMANDU: whereabouts of Gitendra Babu (GB) Rai, accused of misappropriating Rs 16 billion from common people by opening more than half a dozen cooperatives across the country, remains unknown despite efforts to trace him.

Rai, accused of defrauding the depositors of cooperatives, is on the most wanted list of the police. Even though the police issued a diffusion notice in the first week of January, they have not been able to locate his whereabouts so far. The parliamentary special committee formed to investigate the misappropriation of cooperative savings has also instructed the government to present Rai before the committee.

In Tuesday's meeting, the chairman of the committee, Surya Bahadur Thapa Chhetri, informed that they found details of Rai's return to Nepal from Malaysia, but couldn’t not find the details of his exit from Nepal.

"Our investigation has found that Rai has not left Nepal," Thapa told New Business Age, "He may have absconded without using Nepal's airport."

In the first week of June, the then Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Ravi Lamichhane claimed that Rai was in Malaysia and efforts were being made to bring him to Nepal.

However, Lamichhane had to quit the government before he could arrest GB Rai. Lamichhane's name is also associated with Rai in the misappropriation of cooperatives’ savings. It has been found that the funds of various cooperatives opened by Rai were invested in the Gorkha Media Network of which he himself is the chairman and loans were taken from some cooperatives in the name of Lamichhane. Lamichhane was the managing director of the media at that time.

After the name of Lamichhane, who is also the chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, was linked to the misappropriation of the cooperative's funds, a parliamentary committee was formed on May 28 to investigate the matter.

The committee has been mandated to investigate nine other institutions apart from the 20 declared problematic. Among them, Swarnalakshmi Savings and Credit Cooperative in Kathmandu, Sahara Cooperative in Chitwan, Sano Paila Cooperative in Birgunj, Suryadarshan Cooperative in Pokhara, Supreme Savings and Credit Cooperative in Butwal, Equality Savings and Credit Cooperative in Nepalgunj, along with six other cooperatives were found to be connected with Rai and Gorkha Media Network.

The committee has demanded the documents of nine cooperatives that were included in the scope of investigation one month ago and the details of the loans given to the Gorkha Media Network. Chairman Thapa informed that they have made preparations for questioning the people accused of misappropriating the savings of cooperatives.

"We have held 33 meetings and discussed with the stakeholders," he said after the discussion with reporters on Tuesday, "Now we will proceed with the questioning of the persons accused of misappropriation and then prepare the draft of the report."

Similarly, Thapa informed that the work of financial report analysis of some organizations has also progressed.

The committee is preparing to interrogate the directors of 29 cooperatives and 26 accused persons.