Just over a decade ago, the Civil Group was one of the biggest names in the Nepali corporate world. Group chairman Ichchha Raj Tamang Chairman rode the real estate bubble between the late 2000s and mid-2010 and profited handsomely. A qualified engineer and capable entrepreneur, Tamang became one of the pioneers of housing projects in Nepal. He then entered the banking sector.
Civil Homes, Civil Mall, Civil Bank, Civil Saving and Credit Cooperative, among two-dozen ventures, comprise the Civil Group. But the success story of Tamang turned sour as quickly as he had risen to fame, with multiple accusations of financial discrepancies and unscrupulous business practices.
Early 2020 saw the Department of Money Laundering Investigation initiate a probe into Tamang after financial transactions exceeding the given limit were made through his bank account. Tamang, also the chairperson of Civil Bank, along with his partner Keshav Lal Shrestha, had allegedly transferred more than Rs 1 billion from the account maintained by Civil Hotels at Civil Bank to the account of Civil Apartments in the same bank, all owned and operated by Tamang.
The department had also asked Civil Bank’s clarification on why it had not reported suspicions over those transactions to Nepal Rastra Bank. The result of the investigation is yet to be made public. When ApEx inquired about it with the department, we got the reply that “no information on this case can be divulged now”.
Just before the Civil Bank controversy, which lost the bank considerable goodwill, Civil Group’s Pokhara-based Civil Saving and Credit Cooperative also declared it was facing bankruptcy after mass withdrawals following reports of its impending collapse. The cooperative had overextended with its ambitious investments in real estate, hotel and hydropower, without earning the trust of account holders. It had invested around 90 percent of its deposits totalling Rs 7.5 billion in the realty business operated by the group.
Around the same time, Tamang also had a controversial fallout with his business partner Lal Kaji Gurung, a major shareholder in Civil Cooperative and also a partner in Civil Mall. This financial dispute led to court cases, further engulfing the group in controversy.
