Kathmandu, October 20: The Kaski District Court remanded former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane into custody for six days for further investigation on charges of cooperative fund embezzlement and organised crime. The district court led by Judge Navaraj Dahal, granted permission for the six-day remand following a request from the police.

"Bench of Judge Navaraj Dahal remanded 6-day custody to police to further investigate on the case filed against Lamichhane," an Information Officer at the Kaski District Court, Suraj Adhikari confirmed.

Lamichhane also the chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was arrested by a team of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) from his party office in Kathmandu on October 18, 2024. Police took him to Pokhara where he was presented before the court on Sunday.

Along with Lamichhane, the Kaski District Court also has allowed the police to arrest 13 others in the same case with the same charges. Earlier, the District Police Office, Kaski sent a letter to the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police requesting the latter to arrest Lamichhane for investigation into cooperative fraud and organized crime.

The letter was addressed to the CIB, the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office, and the Kathmandu District Police Range. A special inquiry by a parliamentary committee formed to investigate the cooperative scam which had prepared and tabled a report in the parliament on September 16 had indicted Lamichhane for embezzlement of millions of rupees as a part of a cooperative scam.

The seven-member committee formed on May 28 was tabled on the parliament which was formally endorsed by the house session. The report concludes that millions of rupees injected to Gorkha Media came from cooperatives which were traded on the basis of forged documents.

Former Home Minister Lamichhane had worked in Gorkha Media, the parent company of now-defunct Galaxy 4K Television, as managing director at the time when cooperative savings were invested violating cooperative legislation. The incumbent parliamentarian also clarified that he was engaged in Gorkha Media taking sweat share.

Lamichhane later in the year 2022 entered politics announcing the formation of the Rastriya Swatantra Party and entered the federal parliament as a parliamentarian contesting the election the same year. The television's failure to pay salaries to its staff shut its formal operation since last year. The committee in its report also recommended the government take legal action against everyone involved in the transfer of money to Gorkha Media from various cooperatives.

Millions of rupees were inducted into Gorkha Media from various cooperatives Suryadarshan from Pokhara, Supreme from Butwal, Swarnalaxmi from Kathmandu, Sahara Chitwan from Chitwan and Sanopaila from Birgunj. The report has stated that the embezzlement of amounts was completed with the active involvement of GB Rai, Kumar Ramtel, Rabi Lamichhane (then managing director), and Chhabi Lal Joshi. Rai and Lamichhane had operated a joint account in a bank and had issued cheques amounting to millions which shows his involvement, the committee report includes.

"Every company has its own objective and spirit. Promoters and shareholders are the ones with main responsibilities in such institutions. Those in the role and responsibility as shareholders, promoters and managing director cannot be allowed to not be responsible and accountable for the money received by the company," the report stressed.

During the investigation, the committee also held an inquiry session with former Home Minister and incumbent Chairperson of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Lamichhane for over 10 hours. Throughout the inquiry session, he claimed to be unaware that the transfers that were made to the Gorkha Media originated from cooperatives, that too savings of about 50, 000 people.

Further arguing over the case, Lamichhane also claimed that Rabi Lamichhane who had borrowed money from Suryadarshan and Supreme Cooperatives also to be someone not in his knowledge. The committee had asked him a set of 50 questions about his alleged involvement in the scam.

Following the tabling and endorsement of the report, House Speaker Devraj Ghimire directed the government to implement the report of the parliamentary special inquiry committee formed to investigate the misappropriation of savings of cooperatives. Speaker Ghimire then directed the Parliament Secretariat to send the report to the government for implementation.

The HoR had formed the committee headed by CPN-UML lawmaker Thapa on May 28 after the Nepali Congress demanded the formation of a parliamentary investigation committee saying Rastriya Swatantra Party President Rabi Lamichhane, who was then deputy prime minister and home minister, was involved in the misappropriation of cooperative savings.

The HoR had initially given the committee three months and later extended its tenure by 15 days. Dilendra Badu of Nepali Congress, Ishwari Neupane, Sabitra Bhusal of UML, Lekhnath Dahal of CPN (Maoist Center), Shishir Khanal of RSP, and Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan of Rastriya Prajatantra Party are members of the parliamentary committee.

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