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Kathmandu, Dec 15:  Former Gokarneshwar Municipality mayor and ex-chair of the dissolved Parliament’s Finance Committee, Santosh Chalise, has been accused of amassing illegal wealth and acquiring dozens of land plots and houses across Kathmandu.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority on Sunday filed a case at the Special Court against Chalise and four family members on charges of illicit enrichment. The CIAA claims Chalise accumulated illegal assets worth Rs 36.84 million.

Those named as defendants include Chalise, his wife Mandira Chalise, sons Sanjiv and Sagar, and daughter-in-law Pramila Pokharel. The commission has sought confiscation of houses, land, share investments and bank balances registered in their names.

The CIAA has demanded the seizure of a two-and-a-half-storey house built on a 442.50 square metre plot in Gokarneshwar 9 registered in Mandira’s name, another plot of 150.40 square metres in ward 8 under her ownership, and a 143.09 square metre plot in ward 8 registered in Chalise’s name. It has also sought confiscation of land registered in Sagar’s name, including plots measuring 95.39 and 206.60 square metres, as well as a 3,052.32 square metre plot in ward 3 registered in Pramila’s name.

The commission has also asked for the confiscation of Rs 1.5 million invested in Funchu Funpark under Sagar’s name and Rs 1.66 million invested in Engineering and Education Zone Pvt Ltd in Putalisadak. Additional land frozen during the investigation has also been sought for confiscation to recover shortfalls.

According to the charge sheet, Chalise came from a middle-class background before assuming public office on May 21, 2017. Despite this, investigators found that he maintained an incompatible and unexplained standard of living after entering public service.

The CIAA says Chalise and his immediate family jointly and individually acquired around 20 ropanis of land across 16 locations in Kathmandu, including large plots in Baluwa, Jorpati and Sundarijal, and constructed houses that could not be justified by his lawful income.

Bank records show the family held Rs 4.95 million in savings and fixed deposits by the end of the review period. The CIAA said Chalise failed to present credible sources for these funds.

Investigators rejected documents submitted by Chalise claiming a Rs 4.6 million loan, saying the papers were fabricated and improperly certified. Similar doubts were raised over claims that a business partner had funded Sagar’s investments and repaid loans on his behalf.

The CIAA calculated Chalise’s total income during the review period at Rs 48.83 million, while total spending and investments stood at Rs 85.68 million, leaving an unexplained excess of Rs 36.84 million.

The commission has also initiated separate probes into suspected money laundering and said supplementary charges will follow once those investigations conclude.

People’s News Monitoring Service