Victims of the Sudhir Basnet fraud case have demanded that the Cooperative Act be amended without further delay.

Staging a sit-in outside the official residence of Prime Minister KP Oli in Baluwatar on Monday, they said the government has been delaying the process deliberately, turning a deaf ear to their demands.

Basnet, chief of Oriental Housing and Oriental Cooperative, had embezzled over seven billion rupees of some 8,000 people. He was arrested two years ago. A high-level probe panel led by former chairman of the Special Court Gauri Bahadur Karki had investigated into the case and also recommended the government to address the issue.

A second amendment to the Cooperative Act was registered in April. The bill is yet to be endorsed.

“We are losing faith in the government,” said Madhu Sudan Pyakurel, one of the victims. “But we will not give up just yet.”

The victims had launched a joint protest four years ago to recover their deposited money after the savings of Oriental’s depositors were put to risk. Basnet, a builder and also a promoter of Agni Air, was blacklisted for defaulting the loans after he failed to pay interest on bank loans and repay depositors.

The victims said they would stage a stronger protest if need be.

Over 50 people have been staging the sit-in to draw the attention of the government. “We are robbed of our lifetime earnings. The government cannot just ignore us,”said Prem Kaji Sthapit, who was duped of Rs 8 million.