The Central Investigation Bureau has arrested 11 people, including former Chief Executive Officer of Bank of Kathmandu Ajay Shrestha, for their alleged involvement in banking offence worth at least Rs45 million, according to Nepal Police.

Police officials familiar with the investigation told the Post that officials at the bank embezzled about Rs45 million while sanctioning a loan.

“The bank staffers have been accused of sanctioning the bank loan based on a forged document provided by the debtor,” CIB spokesperson Bel Bahadur Pandey told the Post. “The valuator of the land at that time is still missing and we are searching for him to investigate further.”

The debtor, Surendra Shrestha, was unable to pay interest on the loan taken from the bank. When the bank tried to sell the land put as collateral to recover the amount, its own investigation revealed that the documents provided to the bank were forged. Police say some bank officials were involved in the scheming, but they refused to reveal the names because the investigation is still ongoing.

Along with the bank employees, police arrested Shrestha and four others who accompanied him in the plot.

A preliminary investigation by the CIB has revealed that the debtors hatched a plan with bank staffers to create a false land registration and submitted it as a collateral to sanction the loan.

According to Niraj Bahadur Shahi, the deputy inspector general at the CIB, the investigation started after receiving a complaint from the bank around 50 days ago.

“The loan appears to have been sanctioned for some business purpose and our investigation continues,” Shahi said.