Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, was arrested by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police on Sunday. This marks the first high profile arrest from the new government. The arrest is linked to the 9-kilogram gold smuggling case dating back to Dec 2022, when a Chinese national, Li Hansong, arrived in Kathmandu from Fly Dubai flight FZ-0587 carrying two suitcases. Inside those suitcases were 73 vape packs containing a total of 730 vape pieces, which were later found to have concealed gold worth Rs 85.5m.
According to CIB’s investigation, the gold was smuggled and sold in collusion with customs officer Rewant Khadka and others. Mahara is accused of exerting pressure on customs officials to release the gold. His son, Rahul Mahara, had earlier been arrested and sent to jail in connection with the same case.
The suspicious suitcases had been seized by the Tribhuvan International Airport Customs Office after the discovery of the vapes. Li Hansong had left Kathmandu shortly after retrieving his passport, while the seized vapes remained in customs custody.
Following suspicions that the gold concealed in the vapes had been secretly replaced, the Customs Office formally requested the CIB to investigate in April 2023. After two months of investigation, CIB concluded that 9 kilograms of gold had been smuggled, filing a case against six people including customs officer Khadka.
A supplementary charge sheet was later filed, naming Belgian national of Chinese origin Dawa Chhiring, his driver Lokendra Paudel, Rahul Mahara, and Nima Gurung as accomplices. Krishna Bahadur Mahara’s arrest marks the third prosecution related to the case.
CIB had recently taken Mahara’s statement as part of its ongoing investigation. Call records reportedly showed continuous communication between Mahara, his son Rahul, and Chinese nationals Li Hansong.
Although Mahara had earlier been questioned, the case had not progressed due to alleged political protection.
Once known as an honest leader during the conflict era, Mahara’s political career has been marred by controversies since joining peaceful politics. He has previously faced allegations in multiple cases, including the misuse of Rs 400m in funds meant for Maoist combatant management, irregularities in frequency distribution during his tenure as Minister for Information and Communications, and an infamous 2010 audio scandal in which he was allegedly heard seeking Rs 500m from a Chinese national to buy lawmakers’ support. None of those cases, however, led to prosecution.
Elected from Dang-2 in the 2017 general election, Mahara became Speaker but was forced to resign in 2019 after charges of sexual misconduct against a female employee at the Federal Parliament Secretariat. Though he was arrested and jailed, he was later acquitted by the District Court and the verdict was upheld by the Patan High Court.
Since then, Mahara has remained largely inactive in politics, limiting himself to party affairs. He was elected Vice-chairperson of the CPN (Maoist Centre) at its last General Convention and was also serving as the party’s spokesperson.
