King Gyanendra transferred over Rs 10 million to UK: Sitaula

Kathmandu, Dec 18 (UNI) Nepal Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula has said King Gyanendra had transferred over 100,000 Pounds belonging to the slain Royal family members to a firm in London.

The money was routed to the palace treasury from a commercial bank in the capital, a media report said.

''There was an account of 137,427 Pounds at Standard Chartered Bank in the name of Queen Aishwarya, Crown Prince Dipendra and Prince Nirajan,'' Kantipur quoted him as saying while addressing the parliamentarians in the Nepalese Parliament.

''Following the massacre of the Royals in June 2001, King Gyanendra transferred that amount into the Department of Treasury at the Royal palace and later, on August 17, 2001, he again transferred 108,854 Pounds to Beneficiary PS Wells&Company-75, Sydenham Hill, London, leaving some 41,714 Pounds in the palace treasury,'' he said.

He said the government was still unable to obtain full particulars about the property owned by the late members of the Royal family.

Mr Sitaula also said the government has already nationalised properties across the country inherited by King Gyanendra from late King Birendra and members of his immediate family.

At least 37,300 ropani land and forests - 16 palaces that occupy over 2,417 ropani of land in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Nuwakot, Gorkha, Chitwan and Kaski districts, and 34,883 ropani of forest at Nagarjun, Gokarna, Thansing of Nuwakot and at Bharatpur - have been nationalised by the government, he stated.

Some 825 ropani located in 138 places in different wards of Kathmandu metropolitan city, also inherited by King Gyanendra, have been brought under the National Trust.

In accordance with a constitutional provision, the government had introduced the Nepal Trust Bill to establish a trust in the name of King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and their family. The trust will use all their property for the welfare of the nation.

A parliamentary sub committee has been formed to carry out further study and finalise the recently tabled Bill for operating the Nepal Trust 2007 to nationalise the property of the late King Birendra and his family members.

The King was stripped off all the powers after the success of the popular movement last year.

UNI