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The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police has submitted an investigation report with opinion to the District Attorney Office, Kathmandu in the 60 kg gold smuggling case.

CIB spokesperson Nawaraj Adhikari said that the CIB has submitted the investigation report to the District Attorney Office with opinion by concluding the investigation.

So far, police have arrested 32 persons and 18 are on the run, the CIB said.

According to the CIB, among the arrestees, 23 are Nepalis and nine are foreign nationals. The Bureau said that 14 foreign nationals and four Nepalis are on the run.

The CIB has recommended to file a case against the accused on organized crime, gold smuggling and other offenses under the Rastra Bank Act.

The Revenue Investigation Department on July 19 had confiscated the smuggled gold weighing 60 kilos and 716 grams from the Sinamangal area

Energy Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet has laid the foundation stone for the construction of a 29.5m high Dam of the 216 MW Upper Trishuli-1 (UT-1) run-of-the-river hydroelectric project in Trishuli River of Rasuwa District. Basnet laid the foundation stone for the project amidst a special ceremony held in Kathmandu on Tuesday. 

Nepal Water and Energy Development Company (NWEDC), a special purpose vehicle through which Korea South-East Power Co (KOEN) along with Korea Overseas Infrastructure and Urban Development Corporation (KIND), International Finance Corporation (IFC) a member of the World Bank Group and domestic investor is developing the project on build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model. The project development agreement of the project was signed with the government in December 2016. 

The UT-1 is the largest hydroelectric project under construction with foreign direct investment for domestic consumption. The concession period for the project is 35 years, including five years of construction period.

Addressing the ceremony, Energy Minister Basnet said that the government is fully committed to creating a favorable environment for domestic and foreign investors to develop hydropower projects. 

The President and Chief Executive Officer of KOEN Hoe-Chun Kim said the project is very important for fulfilling increasing internal power demand, especially in the dry season. 

The project’s main construction started in Jan 2022 and is estimated to be completed in December 2026. The main construction works including the excavation of the underground powerhouse, headrace tunnel, and head works are in full swing on all fronts and the overall progress rate of the project is 22 percent. Doosan Eneribility is the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the Project. 

The $647.34m project is financed through 70 percent debt and 30 percent equity. The project partners will provide an equity investment of  $194.2m. The debt of $453.12m is being provided by a group of international lenders, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Korean Exim Bank (K-EXIM), Korean Development Bank (KDB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), FMO (The Netherlands), the British International Investment (BII), Proparco (France), and the OPEC fund for International Development (OFID).

The UT-1 is expected to generate up to 1,533 GWh of electricity. Out of the total annual energy generated by the Project, 38.75 percent will be generated during the dry season, which is higher than most of the other run-of-the-river hydropower projects in Nepal, thus contributing vastly to managing the dry season electricity shortfall. 

The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police has claimed to have recovered 302 kg gold smuggled through brake shoes from abroad.

The CIB said that it has recovered a total of 362 kg gold—60 kg gold which was recovered earlier and 302. 62 kg gold which was recovered later from the brake pads.

It has been confirmed that 363 kg gold is worth around Rs 3. 5 billion was imported illegally to Nepal.

CIB Chief Kiran Bajracharya said that the Chinese nationals, who were arrested in connection to the gold smuggling case, had smuggled the gold to Nepal by establishing five companies.

“After the confiscation of 60 kg gold imported by Ready Trade Pvt. Ltd, we have recovered 302 kg gold smuggled through brake pads,” Bajracharya said that the CIB is preparing to file a case demanding a fine of Rs 3.5 billion. Investigation is underway as the smugglers may have brought the gold through other means.”

Preliminary investigation revealed that the five foreign nationals have also taken the citizenships and passports by submitting fake details. Investigation is underway regarding the same, Bajracharya said.

A team of 42 persons of CIB is investigating the gold smuggling case.

It has been found that Nepali, Indian, Chinese and Taiwanese nationals were involved in the smuggling of gold.

The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police has made 50 persons defendants in the 60 kg gold smuggling case.

So far 32 persons have been arrested and 18 are on the run, the CIB said.

Prior to submitting the investigation report of the 60 kg gold smuggling case to the District Attorney Office, CIB Chief Kiran Bajracharya in the press conference said that 23 of the 50 defendants are of foreign nationals.

Among the arrestees, 23 are Nepalis and nine are foreign nationals, according to the CIB.

Bajracharya said that 14 foreign nationals and four Nepalis are at large.

The CIB has recommended to file a case against the accused on organized crime, gold smuggling and other offenses under the Rastra Bank Act.

The Revenue Investigation Department on July 19 had confiscated the smuggled gold weighing 60 kilos and 716 grams from the Sinamangal area