Nepal: Court orders release of Ex-Dy CM Lamichhane in 'cooperative scam' case

Kathmandu [Nepal], January 27 (ANI): Nepal's Rupandehi District Court on Sunday ordered the release of Nepal's cooperative scam accused former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane on bail.
A bench of Justice Prahladkumar Yogi of Rupandehi District Court ordered the release of Lamichhane in bail amounting to Nepali Rupees (NRs) 10 million, court officials confirmed.
This is the third court amongst the 5 districts that have ordered the accused leader to be released on bail.
A case was lodged against the founder of Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP), the fourth largest party in parliament for embezzling funds from Butwal-based Supreme Cooperative.
"Rabi Lamichhane's statement was recorded in court on Wednesday. The plaintiff and defendants deliberated over the case on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Upon completion of the hearing, bench of justice Prahladkumar Yogi ordered release in bail of 10 million (Nepali rupees)," Yagyamurti Gyawali, registrar at Rupandehi District Court confirmed ANI over phone.
Earlier, the Pokhara District Court had ordered his release on a bail amount of NRS 6.5 million in the case of embezzlement of funds from Suryadarshan Cooperative of Pokhara. Later he was granted bail in a similar case involving Swarnalakshmi Cooperative based in Kathmandu on bail amount of NRS 6 million.
Last year on October, 18, Lamichhane was arrested from Kathmandu in the Suryadarshan Cooperative fraud case in Pokhara and was released after 84 days on bail. However, he later faced charges related to embezzlement in the Swarnalakshmi Cooperative case, where he and others are accused of misappropriating NRs 1.19 billion from 690 depositors.
Lamichhane is accused of misappropriating NRS 1.199 billion from the Swarnalakshmi Cooperative alongside 38 accomplices, including key officials of the Gorkha Media Network including former vice chair Chhabilal Joshi, chair Gitendra Babu (GB) Rai, and director Kumar Ramtel.
They are accused of illegally diverting the cooperative funds to the media company, which ran the now-defunct Galaxy 4K Television. Lamichhane was managing director of the company before joining politics in June 2022.
The charges include cooperative fraud and organised financial crimes, alleging systematic diversion of funds. Police investigations also link the accused to cooperative fraud in Butwal, Chitwan, and Parsa.
Police investigations have expanded to include cooperatives in other districts, including Rupandehi, Chitwan, and Parsa. The focus of these investigations is on the systematic embezzlement of funds, which, according to authorities, were misused in a coordinated effort across multiple cooperatives. (ANI)