KATHMANDU, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's central bank has been tougher on bank customers who use safe deposit vaults and locker services, avoiding possible misuse of the facility for hiding illegally earned money or hiding explosives.
In its new directive, the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank of the Himalayan country, called on the banks to install CCTV inside safe deposit vaults, and install alarm systems.
Meanwhile, banks need to take measures to prevent illegal materials such as explosives, weapons and drugs, from being kept in the vaults.
"After the ammunitions were discovered at the bank locker of suspended lawmaker Lharkyal Lama at Nepal Investment Bank, we had to take such measures," said a senior official of NRB.
Fourteen rounds of ammunition were found during a raid by Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, the anti-graft body, on Lama's bank locker earlier this year.
But Nepal Investment Bank Deputy General Manger Rajan Amatya said that the provision of installing CCTV at safe deposit vaults would discourage people to use the service.
"People keep their valuables at banks for safe keeping but they will no longer trust the banks if they are monitored with CCTV," he said.
Meanwhile, Nepal's central bank has also instructed the banks to keep a closer eye on the bank lockers of the politically exposed persons (PEPs).
The banks have to categorize their locker users into four categories, namely customers with high risk, medium risk, and low risk and PEPs, and monitor them accordingly.
