PM, PRESIDENT DISCUSSIONS UPDATE Kathmandu, 27 May: Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai held consultations umndy Sunday with President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav amid an emerging political crisis and uncertainty. A deadline to promulgate a constitution ends in another 14 hours to promulgate a constitution. The premier drove straight to the residence of his party boss Prachanda to continue discussions around promulgating a constitution over which there are deep Differences, a threatened no-confidence vote against him and even the dissolution of the constituent assembly (CA). Meanwhile, Nepal Army has been put on alert and ordered to help police, Spokesman Ramindra Chetri said. nnnn GOVT. BODIES STILL RELUCTANT TO REPORT SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTIONS. - Kathmandu, 27 May: While more private sector agencies have started to report suspicious transactions and transactions above the set limit of Rs 1 million to the Financial Information Unit (FIU) of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), government agencies are still reluctant to do so, The Kathmandu Post reports. As per the Anti-money Laundering Act, FIU has issued a directive to 10 types business and professional agencies and 12 government agencies report such transactions on a regular basis. FIU is the central, national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analysing and relaying information about suspected money laundering and terrorist financing activities to the Investigation Department, other relevant law enforcement agencies and foreign FIUs. “Most of the private sector agencies have started to report us, but just two government agencies—land revenue offices (LROs) and Company Registrar’s Office (CRO)—are reporting to us,” said FIU chief Dharma Raj Sapkota. Among the government agencies, over 60 LROs are reporting regularly, which is a notable progress compared to last year, according to Sapkota. Besides LROs and CRO, 10 other government agencies are required to report to FIU about suspicious transactions. They are the Department of Customs, Inland Revenue Department, Department of Transport Management, Department of Commerce and Department of Industries, the Department of Education, Department of Immigration, Postal Service Department and Metropol-itan cities, Sub-Metropolitan cities and municipalities. The Inland Revenue Department has been maintaining that it cannot provide information about taxpayers to anybody as tax laws have barred it to do so. Banks and financial institutions are the first to comply with the FIU directive. “Also, almost all insurance companies, money changers, stockbrokers and most of the big cooperatives based in the Kathmandu valley are timely reporting,” said Sapkota. “With growing number of reports, we are struggling to manage them properly as FIU is yet to be automated,” said Sapkota. FIU had provided training to officials of Insurance Board and Securities Board of Nepal in this regard in November 2011. “Before the training, only about half of insurance companies and a few stockbrokers were reporting,” Sapkota said. FIU is also regularly monitoring Kathmandu-based big cooperatives to find out whether they are complying with the directive. It checked 35 cooperatives last year and it has monitored as many cooperatives so far this year. “We also send letters to individual cooperatives, asking them to make timely reporting,” said Sapkota. “About 200 Valley-based cooperatives are reporting regularly.” However, casinos, auditors, lawyers, notaries, accountants and high-value metal/stone traders are not reporting to FIU. “Auditors and lawyers have ignored our call so far, while we are yet to reach to the high-value metal/stone traders,” said Sapkota. Committee to make efforts to pass three crucial bills The Anti-Money Laundering Coordination Committee headed by the Finance Secretary has decided to make efforts get the three crucial bills—Bill on Controlling Organised Crime, Bill on Extradition and Bill on Mutual Legal Assistance—endorsed by the parliament right after May 28. The next plenary of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) scheduled for June 18-22 in Italy, and Nepal’s failure to endorse these three bills could result in the country being blacklisted by the plenary. “The committee decided to lobby with ministers and lawmakers,” said Dharma Raj Sapkota, secretary of the committee, who is also the head of the Financial Information Unit at the Nepal Rastra Bank. nnnn