Cases filed against former Home Minister Lamichhane among four
Cases have been filed at the District Court Kaski against four individuals, including Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President and former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, who have been implicated in the Pokhara-based Surya Darshan Cooperatives fraud scam.
The cases are on the charge of money laundering.
Assistant District Attorney at the District Government Attorney Office, Shanti Devi Sharma, said that along with Lamicchane, cases on money laundering have been filed today against Ram Bahadur Khanal, Chhabilal Joshi and Lila Pachhai.
According to Sharma, a case has been filed against Lamichhane, claiming that he misappropriated Rs 278. 94 million. Similarly, a rcase has been filed against Joshi, claiming that he misappropriated Rs 743. 47 million.
Assistant District Attorney Sharma said that chargesheets have been filed against other persons also, making claim of the misappropriated amount and punishment for the same.
Cases have been filed against 19 persons including Lamichhane on the charge of organized crime and against 31 individuals including Lamichhane on the charge of cooperatives fraud.
The Government Attorney Office said that cases have been registered at the District Court Kaski against 63 people so far on the charge of cooperatives fraud.
Information Officer at the District Court, Suraj Adhikari, informed that chargesheets have been filed against various persons including the RSP Presidenf Lamichhane on the charge of cooperative fraud, organized crime and money laundering, and calling for penalizing them.
Lamichhane is alleged of embezzlement of the funds of Pokhara-based Surya Darshan Savings and Cooperatives Limited and he remains in police custody since October 18.
He was apprehended from Kathmandu and was escorted to Kaski.
He is being investigated for accusations of misuse of cooperative funds in other districts as well.
Police submit investigation report against Lamichhane
The District Police Office, Kaski, has concluded its investigation into the cooperative fraud case involving Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairperson Rabi Lamichhane and submitted its report to the District Attorney’s Office on Monday. The report recommends prosecuting 51 individuals, including Lamichhane, former DIG Chhabilal Joshi, Ram Prasad Khanal, and Lila Pachhai, who are currently in police custody. Most of the other suspects remain at large.
The suspects have been charged with cooperative fraud, organized crime, and money laundering. Kaski police have also recommended recovery of around Rs 1.51bn. The investigation revealed that Lamichhane and others were involved in irregularities concerning funds from Suryadarshan Cooperative in Kaski, which were allegedly diverted to Gorkha Media Network and misused.
Evidence gathered during the course of investigation includes checks issued by Lamichhane to repay loans taken from multiple cooperatives. Lamichhane, however, has claimed that the checks in question were left in a drawer during his tenure as the managing director of Gorkha Media Network, and someone else may have filled them out without his consent.
The investigation, which began with Suryadarshan Cooperative, expanded to four other cooperatives: Kathmandu’s Swarnalakshmi Cooperative, Chitwan’s Sahara Chitwan Cooperative, Birgunj’s Sano Paila Cooperative, and Nepalgunj’s Samanata Cooperative.
Police investigation has revealed that Lamichhane and his associates took out loans, including Rs 4.6m each from Swarnalakshmi Cooperative, to purchase vehicles in Lamichhane and GB Rai’s names.
Lamichhane faced these allegations while serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister in the coalition government of the CPN (Maoist Center), CPN-UML, and RSP. The opposition party at the time, Nepali Congress, had made this case a major agenda in parliament, demanding the formation of a parliamentary committee to investigate cooperative irregularities.
A parliamentary committee led by UML MP Surya Thapa found Lamichhane guilty of misusing cooperative funds. The committee’s report revealed that Rs 224.6m from six cooperatives, including Suryadarshan, Supreme, Swarnalakshmi, Sahara, Sano Paila, and Samanata, had been funneled into Gorkha Media Network.
In response to the report, police arrested former DIG Joshi on Sept 22 and Lamichhane on Oct 19 from his party office in Banasthali. Further legal proceedings are ongoing. Lamichhane was apprehended after the Kaski District Court issued an arrest warrant against him. Prior to the arrest, Lamichhane organized a press conference and said that he had been framed by the state.
The parliamentary special panel, formed to investigate crisis-ridden cooperatives, had recommended in its report that the government initiate legal action against Joshi, one of the founders of the Gorkha Media Network, along with the company’s chair, Rai, then managing director Lamichhane, and board member Kumar Ramtel.
The committee’s report was submitted to Speaker of the House of Representatives Devraj Ghimire on Sept 16 and subsequently forwarded to the government. A Cabinet meeting on Sept 19 received the report and directed the ministries and agencies concerned to implement it.
Following the parliamentary panel’s directives, Minister of Home Affairs Ramesh Lekhak ordered Nepal Police to expedite legal action on the cooperatives scam. INTERPOL has already issued a diffusion notice for Rai, who remains on the run.
Ramtel is already in judicial custody in Kaski for his role in misusing cooperative funds. The law allows a detention period of up to 60 days for investigating suspects of organized crime and 90 days for money laundering cases. Authorities aim to present the four individuals currently in custody in court on Tuesday to extend their detention. If possible, the district attorney plans to file the case on the same day.
Former Home Minister Lamichhane remanded in custody for six days
The Kaski District Court on Sunday allowed police to keep Rastriya Swatantra Party President and former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane in custody for six days to carry out an investigation on organized crime.
A single bench of Judge Nawaraj Dahal had allowed the police to keep Lamichhane in custody to conduct further investigation.
Suraj Adhikari, Information Officer of the District Court Kaski, said that the police have been allowed to keep Lamichhane in custody for six days for investigation.
Senior advocates Sushil Pant and Narayan Ghimire had argued on behalf of Lamichhane.
The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police had arrested Lamichhane from Kathmandu on Friday after the Kaski District Court issued an arrest warrant against him to investigate the cooperative fraud case.
He was taken to Pokhara on Friday evening.
Prior to the arrest, Lamichhane had organized a press conference and said that he had been framed by the state.
The Parliamentary Special Committee on Cooperatives had recommended action against four persons including the then Managing Director of Gorkha Media Lamichhane.
Lamichhane was arrested on the basis of the same.
The Committee had recommended action against Gorkha Media Network Chairman GB Rai, the then Managing Director Lamichhane, member Kumar Ramtel and director Chhabiraj Joshi for misappropriating the funds of the cooperative.
Among them, police have arrested Joshi and are carrying out an investigation while Ramtel is also in police custody.
The Committee concluded that the money of the depositors in the cooperative was transferred illegally to the account of Gorkha Media Network Pvt Ltd and Lamichhane was also found involved in it.
The Committee made a conclusion that the funds of nine cooperatives across the country were embezzled in the Gorkha Media Network.
According to the report, the money of Suryadarshan of Pokhara, Supreme of Butwal, Swarnalakshmi of Kathmandu, Sahara of Chitwan, Sanopaila of Birgunj was embezzled in the Gorkha Media Network.
Similarly, it has been mentioned in the report that funds of Image, Samana, Sumeru and IME were also misappropriated in the Gorkha Media Network.
The Committee has recommended to the government that the director of the cooperatives and everyone involved in the decision-making process should be sent to the concerned authorities for action.
The Committee has also directed the government to immediately arrest Gitendra Babu, GB Rai, Than Bahadur Budha Magar, Dinesh Rokka, Sagar KC, Pichkan Khatun, Bhupendra Rai, who are on the run.
Former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane arrested
Rastriya Swatantra Party President and former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane has been arrested on Friday.
Lamichhane was apprehended after the Kaski District Court issued an arrest warrant against him this afternoon.
After the arrest, the police are preparing to take Lamichhane to Pokhara today itself.
Prior to the arrest, Lamichhane organized a press conference and said that he had been framed by the state.
The Parliamentary Special Committee on Cooperatives had recommended action against four persons including the then Managing Director of Gorkha Media Lamichhane.
Lamichhane was arrested on the basis of the same.
The Committee had recommended action against Gorkha Media Network Chairman GB Rai, the then Managing Director Lamichhane, member Kumar Ramtel and director Chhabiraj Joshi for misappropriating the funds of the cooperative.
Among them, police have arrested Joshi and is carrying out investigation while Ramtel is also in police custody.
The Committee concluded that the money of the depositors in the cooperative was transferred illegally to the account of Gorkha Media Network Pvt Ltd and Lamichhane was also found involved in it.
The Committee made a conclusion that the funds of nine cooperatives across the country were embezzled in the Gorkha Media Network.
According to the report, the money of Suryadarshan of Pokhara, Supreme of Butwal, Swarnalakshmi of Kathmandu, Sahara of Chitwan, Sanopaila of Birganj was embezzled in the Gorkha Media Network.
Similarly, it has been mentioned in the report that funds of Image, Samana, Sumeru and IME were also misappropriated in the Gorkha Media Network.
The Committee has recommended to the government that the director of the cooperatives and everyone involved in the decision-making process should be sent to the concerned authorities for action.
The Committee has also directed the government to immediately arrest Gitendra Babu, GB Rai, Than Bahadur Budha Magar, Dinesh Rokka, Sagar KC, Pichkan Khatun, Bhupendra Rai, who are on the run.
Ex-DIG held for ‘hand’ in coops fraud
Minister for Home Affairs Ramesh Lekhak has ordered the immediate implementation of the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee’s report regarding the misappropriation of funds in cooperatives. On Sunday, Minister Lekhak instructed Inspector General of Nepal Police, Basant Bahadur Kunwar, to take action based on the report, which was recently sent to the relevant ministry for enforcement.
In a related development, former Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Chabilal Joshi has been arrested in connection with the cooperative fraud case. According to sources at the police headquarters, Joshi was apprehended in Kathmandu shortly after the minister’s directive.
Joshi, identified as a former director of Gorkha Media Network Pvt Ltd, was named in the report of the inquiry committee led by Surya Thapa, which recommended action against four individuals, including Joshi. The Parliamentary Special Committee to Investigate Cooperative Funds has pinpointed Joshi as a central figure in the fraudulent activities, alleging that he played a significant role in withdrawing funds from various cooperatives under the guise of loans.
The inquiry report reveals that Gorkha Media Network was established with half of its investment from GB Rai and Joshi. Following previous business partnerships, Joshi reportedly reduced his 15 percent share, transferring it to Rabi Lamichhane. He is accused of securing loans amounting to Rs 25m from the Supreme Cooperative of Butwal and Rs 10.86m from Sano Paila Cooperative in Birgunj to fund his investment in Gorkha Media. Subsequently, Joshi is said to have distanced himself from Gorkha Media due to disagreements.
The inquiry committee has recommended prosecuting Rai, Kumar Ramtel, Lamichhane and Joshi in accordance with existing laws.
Ramtel, who was a business partner of Rai in various ventures, was involved with cooperatives such as Suryadarshan in Pokhara and Sano Paila in Birgunj. He later served as a director of Gorkha Media Network.
During his statement to the committee, he claimed that an artificial loan was taken in his name to cover a loan for Lamichhane. After Lamichhane departed from Galaxy, the loans under his name in the cooperatives were transferred to other cooperative owners.
Joshi made a statement similar to Ramtel’s, asserting that he did not pay the amount when he purchased the shares and did not receive any funds upon selling them. He also revealed that when he went to Nepal Bank to secure a loan for Galaxy Television, Rai told him, “I have already managed it from elsewhere.”
Former Home Minister Lamichhane reiterated his claim during the committee meeting, stating that he was not involved in taking loans from the cooperatives.
Home Minister Lamichhane in mood to put in papers
Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane has made up his mind to resign.
Minister Lamichhane is preparing to put in papers saying that there is no point in staying in the government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, which fell into minority after the formation of a new ruling coalition of the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML.
People close to Lamichhane have suggested that he resign from the post of Home Minister.
According to a source, Lamichhane is also preparing to join the government led by UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli after tendering the resignation.
It has been learnt that Lamichhane, who is also the President of Rastriya Swatantra Party, is in a mood to submit the resignation to the Prime Minister after today’s meeting.
“A new agreement has been reached between the two largest parties. The government led by CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has already fallen into minority. He is busy in holding discussions with the party leaders saying that it will be appropriate to resign in this situation. Most probably, he will resign after today’s meeting,” a leader said.
The Dahal-led government faced a crisis after the top leaders of the two largest parties of the Parliament Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli signed an agreement to form a new government under Oli’s leadership.
In the 275-member House of Representatives, Nepali Congress has 88 seats and UML has 79.
The UML on Tuesday had urged Prime Minister Dahal to resign by today and pave the way for the formation of a national consensus government.
SC orders concerned sides to submit documents against Home Minister Lamichhane
The Supreme Court has ordered for submission of case files and documents after a hearing on the writ petition filed against Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane.
A division bench of Justices Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma and Til Prasad Shrestha today ordered the concerned sides to submit the documents related to cooperatives' fraud case filed at the Rupandehi District Court after hearing the writ petition filed demanding the DPM's suspension, according to Joint Spokesperson of Supreme Court, Govinda Ghimire.
Giving priority to that case, the next hearing has been fixed for June 18.
Advocate Anupam Bhattarai had filed the writ petition demanding the removal of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Lamichhane, claiming that he was involved in the misappropriation of the cooperative's funds.
Hearing on fraud case against Home Minister Lamichhane on June 10
The Supreme Court denied an interim order on a writ petition filed against Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane.
A single bench of Justice Til Prasad Shrestha issued the order for discussion with disputants on June 10, which would determine whether to issue the interim order.
Shrestha also demanded submissions of the charge sheets filed at different courts against Lamichhane.
In the order, Justice Shrestha warranted prior rights for hearing the case, as its nature suggested.
The case is related to the misappropriation of cooperatives' funds.
The Office of the Attorney General has also been asked to furnish a written response whether an order is needed in the case.
Advocate Anupam Bhattarai had filed a writ petition at Supreme Court, accusing Home Minister Lamichhane of involvement in the misappropriation of cooperatives' funds. He also demanded relieving Lamichhane from the post.
Earlier, justice Tek Prasad Dhungana had ordered for the registration of a writ petition against Home Minister Lamichhane on May 22.
Congress ready to form committee without mentioning Home Minister Lamichhane’s name
The main opposition Nepali Congress has agreed to form a parliamentary probe committee without mentioning the name of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane.
The Parliamentary Party meeting held on Tuesday decided to form a parliamentary probe committee without mentioning the name of any particular person in the cooperative fraud scam.
After the meeting, Nepali Congress Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhak said that the task force would give the final shape.
The meeting was held under the chairmanship of former General Secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula after party President Sher Bahadur Deuba was not feeling well.
Lekhak said that the names of additional members will be sent to the parliamentary secretariat after the terms of reference (ToR) of the committee is finalized.
Currently, Deputy General Secretary Jeevan Pariyar and Gyanendra Bahadur Karki are in the task force from Nepali Congress.
Leader Lekhak claimed that a proposal will be tabled in the Parliament meeting at 4 pm today to endorse the agreement along with ToR.
The Congress has long been obstructing the House proceedings demanding formation of a parliamentary probe committee by mentioning the name of Home Minister Lamichhane in the cooperative fraud case.
Now, the House obstruction will be cleared from today after the Congress expressed its readiness to form a parliamentary committee without mentioning the name of any particular person.
Home Minister Lamichhane makes public his property details
Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane made public his property details on Tuesday.
The Home Minister also made public the property details of his wife Nikita Paudel.
According to the information made public today, he owns one ropani and one anna land in Bhaktapur as his ancestral property.
Lamichhane has shown Rs 110, 000 deposited in two banks (Rs 5, 000 in Global IME Bank and Rs 105, 000 in Nepal Bank Limited).
Similarly, Lamichhane's wife Nikita Paudel has 80 tola gold, 15/20 kg silver utensils and 25 percent Gopikrishna Pvt. Ltd.
Lamichhane said that he got some of the gold from his parents and bought some of it.
Nikita has five anna land in Budhanilkantha.
She has Rs 5, 000 in Siddhartha Bank, Rs 500, 000 in Nepal Bank, Rs 15, 000 in Sunrise Bank, Rs 28, 000 in NMB Bank and Rs 10, 511 in Prabhu Bank.
It has been shown that she took a loan of Rs 15 million as a home loan four years ago.
Likewise, it has been mentioned in the property details that Nikita has a Tata Nexon EV car of Rs 4. 2 million.
DPM Lamichhane tries to run away from allegations against him: Congress
The main opposition Nepali Congress has maintained its position that an investigation should be conducted against Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, who is accused of embezzling cooperative funds.
After a Parliamentary Party meeting of the Congress held this morning, Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhak said that they would not allow the House to proceed with its business until a parliamentary committee is formed.
He said that what Lamichhane said in the Parliament was untrue, fabricated and misleading.
The Congress claimed that the Home Minister tried to run away from the allegations leveled against him in the cooperative scam.
“Lamichhane’s remarks are misleading. He tried to run away by blaming others,” he said.
It is clear that Lamichhane had misused the cooperative funds, Lekhak claimed.
The NC has long been obstructing the parliamentary proceedings, alleging the involvement of Deputy Prime Minister Lamichhane in the fraud and demanding the formation of a parliamentary committee to ensure a fair investigation into the case whereas the CPN-UML and RSP in particular have made it clear in no uncertain terms that an individual-centric probe is simply unacceptable.
No deal on ToR of coop probe panel
The major ruling and opposition parties represented in the Federal Parliament failed to agree on the terms of reference (ToR) for the parliamentary committee supposed to investigate the issue of co-operative fraud, rendering Sunday’s meeting of the working group at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs inconclusive and indicating that they will continue to hold the parliament hostage.
Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) continued to dig in heels on the thorny issue, with Shishir Khanal, a working group member and a Member of Parliament (MP) from the ruling party, demanding that the entire cooperative sector be brought under investigation as it is “unfair to investigate only one person”, giving the main opposition Nepali Congress not much leeway.
But a short break from the standoff came as Deputy Prime Minister Lamichhane fielded questions at the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the federal parliament, regarding his alleged involvement in the cooperative fraud and denied his role in the case. He asked the main opposition Nepali Congress to think seriously on whether to form a committee targeted at individuals, even as NC’s Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhar said that while the government was ready to form such a panel, UML was not willing to bring Deputy Prime Minister Lamichhane under investigation.
After Home Minister Lamichhane finished speaking, Members of Parliament from the main opposition Nepali Congress got up from their seats and demanded that they be allowed to speak. But Speaker Devraj Ghimire adjourned the meeting till 11 am on Monday.
Meanwhile, the upper chamber of the federal parliament continued to bear the brunt of the standoff. The meeting of the National Assembly (NA) initially scheduled for 1:15 pm on Sunday was deferred to 3:15 pm, only to be postponed until Monday. On Sunday, NA Chair Narayana Prasad Dahal was to inform the assembly about a letter received from the Office of the President regarding the appointment of ministers and ministers of state, as well as the allocation of ministerial portfolios.
The NC has long been obstructing the parliamentary proceedings, alleging the involvement of Deputy Prime Minister Lamichhane in the fraud and demanding the formation of a parliamentary committee to ensure a fair investigation into the case whereas the CPN-UML and RSP in particular have made it clear in no uncertain terms that an individual-centric probe is simply unacceptable.
Task force meet ends inconclusively
A meeting of the task force held to decide ToR regarding the formation of a parliamentary probe committee to look into cooperative scam ended inconclusively.
The meeting of the task force ended without making a concrete decision after the ruling and opposition parties could not reach an agreement on whether to include the name of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane.
After the meeting, CPN-UML Chief Whip Mahesh Bartaula informed that though they reached close to theoretical agreement, they are yet to finalize the ToR.
He said that the issue could not be resolved as the main opposition Nepali Congress was focusing only on Home Minister Lamichhane.
Bartuala said that the meeting of the task force will be held again after the Parliament meeting.
He said that the meeting will be put off after the Home Minister answers the questions raised by the Congress.
He said that the ruling parties want investigation into all the cooperatives that embezzled the money of depositors.
The UML leader went on to say that though the ruling parties have agreed to form a parliamentary committee as demanded by the Congress, the main opposition party is not in favor of giving justice to all the victims of the cooperatives.
Congress Deputy General Secretary Jeevan Pariyar said that the Congress has not changed its stance of bringing Home Minister Lamichhane under investigation.
Opposition parties urge Speaker not to conduct meeting until an agreement is reached on ToR
Opposition parties including Nepali Congress have urged Speaker Devraj Ghimire not to conduct the meeting until an agreement on terms of reference (ToR) of parliamentary probe committee on Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane is reached.
A meeting of the opposition parties held on Sunday morning urged Speaker Ghimire not to conduct the meeting until an agreement on ToR of the task force pertaining to the formation of a parliamentary committee is reached.
After the meeting of the opposition parties, lawmaker Gyan Bahadur Shahi had reached the Office of the Speaker to inform about the decision.
Congress Chief Whip Ramesh Lekhak had reached Singhadurbar after he was asked for support to forge consensus in the task force.
Earlier, the opposition parties had decided to allow Home Minister Lamichhane to speak in the Parliament.
Rastriya Prajatantra Party spokesperson Gyanendra Shahi said that the opposition parties had agreed to allow Lamichhane to speak in the Parliament.
Congress to continue House obstruction until parliamentary committee is formed
The main opposition Nepali Congress has decided to continue the House obstruction.
A meeting of the senior leaders of the party held in Singha Durbar decided to continue the obstruction until a parliamentary probe committee is formed to investigate fraud charges against Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane.
Congress spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat accused the ruling coalition of trying to get away by saying that it would only investigate the issue of cooperatives apart from Lamichhane.
“The issue of cooperatives should be investigated. But Rabi ji is also embroiled in the case of embezzling the funds of the cooperative. Police have not taken that case ahead. That is why we demanded the formation of a parliamentary probe committee,” he said.
Leader Mahat further said that the issue of Lamichhane should also be included while forming the parliamentary committee.
“No consensus has been forged to resume the Parliament yet. The issue of Home Minister Lamichhane should also be included in the cooperative embezzlement case. The ruling coalition is not ready for that,” he said.
PM Dahal directs Home Minister and Finance Minister not to threaten businessperson
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has directed Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane and Finance Minister Barshaman Pun not to threaten businessperson.
Finance Minister Pun revealed that Prime Minister Dahal called him and Home Minister Lamichhane and gave such an instruction.
During an interaction organized on the occasion of 58th annual general meeting of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Minister Pun had urged the businessperson to do business with confidence by paying taxes to the government.
He said that after the reshuffle of the Cabinet, the Prime Minister had called him and Home Minister Lamichhane together for the first time and issued a directive not to threaten the private sector without any reason.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister said that there is no one above the law in the democratic country,
