Despite Divorce, Cooperative Members Considered Family; Assets of Those Involved in Fraud to Be Seized
The government has expanded the definition of ‘family’ in the Cooperative Act amendment ordinance to include individuals who already hold share certificates of troubled cooperatives as family members. According to the ordinance, cooperative members who have not conducted transactions for two consecutive years or have acted against the cooperative’s rules and regulations will also be counted as family. The definition of family now includes detailed relations of relatives and employees working in the cooperative. April 30, Kathmandu.
Even after divorce, members are still considered part of the family, and there are provisions for seizing the assets of those involved in cooperative fraud. The government introduced this measure by amending the family definition regarding members of troubled cooperatives. The ordinance includes individuals holding share certificates as family members.
According to the ordinance amending the Cooperative Act, 2017, section 88 states that any cooperative member who has not engaged in transactions continuously for two years or has acted in violation of the Act or related regulations will be counted within the family. This also includes individuals holding share certificates. Furthermore, members of cooperatives under liquidation, dissolved, or declared troubled under section 104 of the Act, as well as family members who have separated shares or undergone divorce, are to be included in the family definition.
Under the Act’s definition, “relatives” include uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, grandson, granddaughter, granddaughter-in-law, maternal uncle, maternal aunt, nephew, niece, son-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, elder brother’s wife, elder sister-in-law, paternal aunt, paternal uncle, granddaughter’s husband, estranged parents-in-law, elder brother, younger brother, sister-in-law, brother’s wife, as well as members of the same household. This term also encompasses employees working in the cooperative where the member holds affiliation.
