OPPOSITION UML CENTRL COMMITTEE MEETS Kathmandu, 9 Jan.: UML central committee meets Wednesday after a meeting of its standing committee at a time when the country is in political crisis and the government is in trouble after the London arrest of Nepal Army Col. Kumar Lama for alleged rights abuses during the 10-year Maoist insurgency. Opposition UML totally opposed the arrest even as the governing party and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai intervened in the investigation in the Dailekh murder by Maoists of a journalist eight years ago. The central committee will discuss the political uncertainty, UML role, violence against women, amendment of a party statute and other issues at the committee. Nnnn GOVT, SHOULD NOT INTEVENE IN INVESTIGATION OF JOURNALIST MURDER Kathmandu, 9 Jan.:: President of Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) Shiva Gaunle has said that the Government should not intervene in the legal process that has begun against the alleged murderers of Dailekh-based journalist Dekendra Raj Thapa, RSS reports. In his reaction to the statements made on Tuesday by the Prime Minister over the case, Mr Gaunle said there was no alternative to the government to move the legal process ahead. "We will not accept any attempts made by the high-level government authorities to free the murderers", he said (Note: Thapa’s wife had said after the arrest of five Maoist suspects she finally hoped for justice after eight years.) nnnn COLD KILLS 3 IN BIRGUNJ Kathmandu, 9 Jan.: Three persons died of freezing cold in Parsa on Tuesday. The deceased are Phul Kumar Rijal (60) of Gadi VDC-6, Shiva Das Tharu (55) of Sonbarsha VDC-8 and Ramayan Prasad Kurmi (41) of Bairiyabirta VDC-6 of the district, said Rangapur Police. Police have arranged firewood and timbers for bonfire to keep people warm in different areas in Birgunj Sub-metropolis region. Nnnn INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION MISUSED SAYS OFFICIAL Kathmandu, 9 Jan.:: University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Prof. Dr. Ganesh Man Gurung has said that present education system was to blame for misuse and lack of productivity of the investments in education sector, RSS reports from Syangjha. Inaugurating the newly-constructed library building of Galyang Multiple Campus in Syangja on Tuesday, Gurung said present education sector has turned into a factory producing only unemployed human resources. The traditional way of education system and curriculum should be changed according to the changed context, he opined. Vocational and skill based curriculums should be updated from the school level to enhance the quality, said Dr. Gurung. The Quality of education has further worsened from school level directly affecting the university education, Gurung said. On the occasion, Unified CPN (Maoist) leader Hari Prasad Bhattarai, CPN (UML) Mukti Prasad Pathak, Nepali Congress District Committee Member Guru Prasad Bhattarai, Founder Campus Chief Rewati Raman Poudel and Mirmi Multiple Campus Chief Pitambar Bhattarai, among others also expressed their opinions on the occasion. The two-storied building was constructed with the total investment of 4.1 millions—Rs 2.5 million from the UGC and remaining other amount from local level, according to Campus Chief Govinda Sigdel. Nnnn SEBON’S MOVE TO CURB MONEY LAUNDERING Kathmandu, 9 Jan:: Stockbrokers and merchant bankers will now have to scrutinise their clients for any instances of money laundering, The Himal;ayan Times reports. Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) — the capital market regulator — has issued the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-terrorist Financing Directive 2069 in order to prevent any illegal fund from entering the capital market for laundering purposes. Nepal Rastra Bank’s Financial Information Unit (FIU) and Department of Money Laundering Investigation requires stockbrokers to inform the authorities regarding any suspicious transaction exceeding Rs one million, under the Anti-Money Laundering Act-2008. According to the current directive, securities businesspersons have to report any transaction undertaken by a person or a firm exceeding Rs one million in a single day to the FIU. Sebon has defined securities businesspersons as stockbrokers, portfolio managers, asset managers and merchant bankers managing any share issue. Securities businesspersons also need to maintain separate documents on clients conducting businesses higher than Rs one million and have to ask the clients regarding the source of the money. Share brokers and portfolio managers have been asked to maintain customer due diligence so that any suspicious income can be detected. The directive has asked brokers and asset managers not to be involved with clients who are unable to provide all the information required for customer due diligence or if the information is found to be incorrect. It has also asked securities brokers and merchant bankers to maintain enhanced customer due diligence for very risky clients and simplified customer due diligence for less risky clients. The directive has identified clients or investors who are suspected of being involved in some sort of illegal activity among others. “It is commendable that the regulator is working towards preventing the capital market from becoming a place to launder illegal money, but since the Nepali stock market is not connected to the global market or is not open to international investors, we have little to worry about on that issue,” said a stockbroker at Nepse. “But keeping customer due diligence will surely help prevent ill-gotten money from entering the capital market,” added the broker. Since the last three years, in order to prevent the Nepali financial sector from aiding any sort of placing or layering of illegal money, authorities have asked financial institutions, insurance companies, accountants and cooperatives to report any suspicious transaction exceeding Rs one million. Nepal is dealing with the possibility of being blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force, an inter-governmental global anti-money laundering body due to its inability to show the commitment towards fighting money laundering. Nepal has been given the deadline of June 2013 to get all the related Acts enacted. nnnn