CHATURANANDA VAIDHAYA ELECTED CHIEF OF NTTA FOR THIRD TERM Kathmandu, 24 June: Chaturananda Vaidhaya was re-elected president Saturday for another four-year term by the general assembly of Nepal Table Tennis Association (NTTA). A 11-member executive committee was also elected. Vaidhaya was elected for a third term. nnnn NEPAL GETS ONE YEAR REPRIEVE Kathmandu, 24 June: With the endorsement of two anti-money laundering (AML) bills, Nepal has received one more year to address deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime, The Kathmandu Post reports. The Financial Action Task Force’s (FAFT) plenary that ended on Friday in Rome decided to let Nepal remain in the ‘grey list’ until July 2013. President Ram Baran Yadav had endorsed two ordinances on the Mutual Legal Assistance and Extradition Treaty on June 18, which helped Nepal avoid being blacklisted by the FAFT, a global anti-money laundering body. The FATF had warned Nepal of possible blacklisting if the country failed to endorse three bills on anti-money laundering — Mutual Legal Assistance, Extradition Treaty and Organised Crime. However, the bill on Organised Crime was not endorsed due to differences among the political parties. “Nepal has maintained its status quo,” said Maha Prasad Adhikari, deputy governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). “Now, we have one more year in which we have to complete unfinished tasks.” Among the major jobs that Nepal needs to complete in the next one year are the endorsement of the bill on Organised Crime, amendments to the Act on Anti-money Laundering and automation of the Financial Information Unit (FIU) at NRB. “These were the same commitments that Nepal had made during FATF’s February plenary in Paris,” said Adhikari. “We were also asked to endorse the three bills and issue new directives on AML.” In the first week of May, The NRB had issued new directives on anti-money laundering whereby FIU has directed 12 government agencies and 10 types of NGOs to freeze assets of and avoid transactions with organisations and individuals who have been listed as terrorists by the United Nations and the government. Nepal has to complete the automation of FIU, which keeps track of suspicious transactions and works as focal points for Nepal on exchange of information about money laundering, by December 2012. “We have been told to upgrade IT system at FIU by December,” said FIU Chief Dharma Raj Sapkota. The FATF has also asked Nepal to amend the Money Laundering Prevention Act. “We have been asked to adopt more stringent provision in the Act,” he said. If Nepal had failed to endorse the two bills ahead of the plenary, FATF would have blacklisted the country. Blacklisting of Nepal could have resulted in non-acceptance of letters of credit by foreign banks, affecting Nepal’s international trade. Nepali nationals may have to undergo stricter surveillance at intentional airports. NRB sources say FATF has expressed reservations about frequent transfers of key officials at the Department of Money Laundering Investigation (DMLI), the main government agency for controlling anti-money laundering activities. The department was set up in June 2011 and was formally inaugurated in August 2011. However, in less than a year of its establishment, its director general (DG) has been changed thrice. When the department was established, Khum Raj Punjali was appointed its DG. Punjali was replaced by Mukti Narayan Poudel within five months. Even Poudel did not last for more than five months and Rajendra Nepal was brought in his place. The Finance Ministry is now planning restructuring DMLI. “The O&M survey for the restructuring is in the last phase,” said a ministry source. After restructuring, there will be around 100 staffers, including a Superintendent of Police, at the department. HOME MINISTRY RETREATS IN STANDOFF WITH ELECITON COMMISSION Kathmandu, 24 June: Upholding the Election Commission (EC) directive not to implement the transfer of two dozen senior police officials, citing a violation of the EC code of conduct, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) has stopped their transfer for the time being, said a senior ministry official, Bhadra Sharma writes in The Kathmandu Post. “The process of transferring police officials has been halted for now after the EC directed us not to implement the decision even if it had been taken,” said the official. Other officials approached by the Post also confirmed that the police officials are still working at their old offices and haven’t been transferred. After criticism from all quarters that the transfers were against the spirit of free and fair elections and the EC’s code of conduct, the Home Ministry responded that it had only just begun the transfer process. Binod Singh, spokesperson for the Nepal Police, also said that transfers had not been put into effect. “We were not formally informed about the ministry’s decision to transfer police officials, so there is no question of implementing the decision,” Singh said. On Monday, the government decided to transfer five AIGs and 19 DIGs, just before Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai left for Rio de Janeiro to attend the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. Taking serious exception to the government’s decision to transfer high-ranking officials immediately after the announcement of CA elections, the EC had directed the government to scrap the transfers immediately. In addition to the transfers, the government had also promoted seven SSPs of the Armed Police Force to DIGs and other Nepal Army and National Investigation officials, even after the EC issued the code of conduct. EC has made it clear that the decision was taken after the constitutional body rejected the ministry’s proposal when it sought permission, on grounds that the transfers were against the code of conduct. Legally, the government has no right to transfer, promote or appoint government officials without EC’s consent after announcing fresh elections. nnnn