The government has issued an ordinance to criminalise the practice of loan sharking.

President Ramchandra Paudel, on Wednesday, issued the ordinance, as per the recommendation of the Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday, to amend the prevailing criminal code and define the practice of loan sharking as a criminal offence.

According to the Spokesperson of the President’s Office Sagar Acharya, the ordinance was issued in accordance with the Article 114(1) of the Constitution of Nepal.

A group of loan shark victims had been staging sit-in in the Capital after the government had failed to comply with the five-point agreement signed between the two parties in September last year.

Following a new agreement between the two sides on April 2, the government had assured the victims of finding a long-term solution to the problem. A Cabinet meeting held immediately after the signing of the agreement had decided to amend a law to make the practice of loan sharking a punishable criminal offence.

A three-member committee has been formed to study the demands of the victims and investigate their cases and suggest solutions.