KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Sushila Karki has taken a strong initiative to address the problems faced by victims of cooperative scams.

She convened a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday, bringing together Cooperative Minister Anil Sinha, Ministry Secretary Kedar Nath Sharma, PMO Secretary Rajkumar Shrestha, officials from the Crisis Management Committee, Cooperative Regulation Authority, and representatives of the National Federation of Cooperative Victims.

During the meeting, PM Karki emphasized that those who defraud cooperatives must not be allowed to escape justice.

“We must do whatever it takes to ensure that scammers are not left free, and that victims no longer have to walk home in tears. If legal gaps exist, we will amend them,” she said.

The Prime Minister urged that victims’ savings be recovered, even if it requires auctioning the properties of fraudsters or contacting them abroad.

“If we do not act, who will? Victims should not cry in the streets while perpetrators walk freely. This is not how a civilized society behaves,” she added.

PM Karki described tackling cooperative scams as a key responsibility of her government, alongside conducting elections and combating corruption.