UML STANDING COMMITTEE MEET Kathmandu, 23 Jan.: UNL standing committee meets Wednesday to finalize amendment to a statute for presentation to a meeting of the national representatives later this year in the capital. The draft will be presented to the central committee again before the council meets. The standing committee will discuss other national and party issues. Nnnn PINOCHET LAWYERS TAKE CHARGE OF COL. LAMA CASE Kathmandu, 23 Jan.; The government has hired Kingsley Napley, an internationally recognised UK law firm, which also handled the case of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, to defend Nepal Army Col Kumar Lama in a British court. Col Lama is in the custody of the British police since January 3, Anil Giri writes in The Kathmandu Post.. Gen Pinochet’s arrest in 1988 by British authorities and his subsequent release in 2000 is known as a watershed event in the history of international justice where a dictator was nabbed in a foreign land and subsequently repatriated to his home country. Pinochet’s case was handled by Michael Caplan QC (Queen’s Consul), one of the UK’s top lawyers and a partner in the Kingsley Napley law firm. Pinochet, like Col Lama, was arrested on grounds of universal jurisdiction, put under house arrest in the UK and later released on medical grounds. He was charged with extrajudicial killing, internment and torture. Col Lama has been arrested in the UK on two counts of torture he allegedly committed during the Maoist insurgency in Nepal. Lama, who is a diabetic and suffers from high blood pressure, is receiving medical care and other facilities from British authorities. “Kingsley Napley and its top solicitor, Caplan, have already taken up Col Lama’s case. With the help of such a reputed law firm, we now hope that we will be able to get proper legal counsel,” Nepali Ambassador to the UK, Suresh Chandra Chalise, told the Post over telephone. Caplan, who represented Pinochet in his extradition proceedings, maintains an extradition practice, advising both individuals and foreign governments. The Chambers and Partners 2011 legal directory reports that Caplan “has a phenomenal reputation in extradition” and that he also acts on requests for Mutual Legal Assistance, representing both the UK and foreign nationals. Col Lama’s next hearing is slated for January 24. The government has released more than 50,000 pounds sterling (Rs 6,860,000 approximately) for bail if the British court so allows. “In the UK, the courts generally do not place a ceiling on bail deposits. The higher the deposit, the greater are the chances of release, so we are not going to compromise on that score,” a government official said. Meanwhile, Ambassador Chalise passed on a letter from PM Baburam Bhattarai to British PM David Cameron on Monday. “I met one of the British PM’s foreign affairs advisors and made a case against Col Lama’s arrest and handed him the letter,” Chalise said. Nnnn US ENVOY UNHAPPY OVER NEPAL DELAY IN MONEY LAUNDERING RULES Kathmandu, 23 Jan.: Nepal could be blacklisted internationally for failing to comply with international money laundering rules and regulations, Prithvi Man Shrestha, PHanindra Dahal write in The Kathmandu Post.. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global anti- money laundering body, could blacklist Nepal if the government fails to introduce a law against organised crime before its next plenary to be held in Paris next month. In a worst-case scenario, all banking correspondence could stop, and flow of aid and grants come to a standstill. In his meeting with Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun on Tuesday, US Ambassador Peter W Bodde expressed concerns over the lack of progress in addressing the issues raised by the FATF. “The US ambassador expressed concern and reminded the government of the deadline,” said a source privy to the recent developments. “The blacklisting, however, falls in the purview of the global anti- money laundering body, and not the US government,” said an official. Finance Minister Pun is said to have committed to an ordinance against organised crime, which he said would be endorsed ahead of the FATF plenary, scheduled for February 18-22. “The finance minister said that the government is ready to fulfill its obligations against money laundering . He told the US ambassador that he will meet with President Yadav to persuade him to endorse the ordinance,” said Madhu Marasini, joint secretary at the Finance Ministry. If blacklisted, foreign banks may not approve the letters of credit issued by Nepali banks. Such a scenario will also severely diminish Nepal’s prospects of getting foreign aid and investments. Nepal, which is currently in “the grey list”, might also be downgraded to the “dark-grey list”. Nepal narrowly escaped being blacklisted in February last year after it committed to addressing its poor oversight of money laundering . The deadline was extended after President Yadav endorsed the Mutual Legal Assistance Act and the Extradition Treaty Act through ordinances in June last year. The President’s Office has said it is still looking into the ordinance against organised crime forwarded by the government. “The president could take up the issue with the political parties and hold talks on the ordinance next week,” said President’s Press Advisor Rajendra Dahal. “We are unfortunately being distracted by political logjam.” In its assessment of Nepal, the FATF has stated that Nepal is yet to criminalise money laundering and terrorist financing adequately and to enforce adequate measures to identify and freeze terrorist assets and confiscate them. Other deficiencies pointed out by the FAFT are failure to enact and implement appropriate mutual legal assistance legislation; ensure a fully operational and effectively functioning of financial information unit and establish adequate suspicious transaction reporting obligations. Last week in Hong Kong, Nepali officials present at the Regional Review Group, which is under FATF, were warned of ‘dire consequences’ if the country failed to introduce law against organised crime. nnnn