Case filed against Lamichhane, 43 others over Suryadarshan Cooperative scam

By Phadindra Adhikari,Lekhnath, Dec. 23: The District Government Attorney’s Office in Kaski has filed charge sheets against 44 individuals, including former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane, at the District Court, Kaski over embezzlement of funds of Suryadarshan Cooperative. 

The District Government Attorney's Office, Kaski, registered the indictment on Sunday afternoon.

According to Shantidevi Sharma, Spokesperson for the Government Attorney's Office, former home minister Lamichhane and former DIG Chhabilal Joshi, along with Lila Pachhai, Ram Bahadur Khanal, and Krishna Bahadur Gurung, faces charges of cooperative fraud, organised crime and money laundering. 

Additionally, cases have been filed against eight companies involved in the scam, said Sharma. She said that the case was filed against 31 individuals, eight companies, and five persons, making altogether 44 defendants. 

Earlier, Kaski Police had recommended 51 individuals as defendants in their report submitted last Monday. Thirty-one individuals face charges related to cooperative fraud, and 19 are also accused of organised crime. Spokesperson Sharma said that different claims were made based on the nature of the offences. 

"The indictment covers cooperative fraud, organised crime, assets laundering, and offences against the Nepal Rastra Bank Act," she said. 

"We had filed additional charges on Friday and have now registered supplementary charges on Sunday," she said.  The indictment mentions additional claims and charges related to ongoing cases, raising the total number of defendants to 63. 

The case claims Rs. 278.9 million over assets laundering against Lamichhane and Rs. 743.4 million against Joshi.

The defendants face demands for four to six years of imprisonment for cooperative fraud, an additional 50 per cent sentence for organised crime, and two to 15 years for property laundering. 

Kaski Police submitted a report to the Government Attorney's Office, Kaski, on December 16 after more than three months of investigation into the fraud involving Suryadarshan Cooperative.

The indictment seeks a total claim of Rs. 1.514 billion in damages. 

Suraj Adhikari, Spokesperson for the District Court, Kaski, said, “The registration process is nearing completion. We are currently reviewing the files," he said. "Statements from the defendants will begin from Monday," he said.