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Kathmandu, Jan 31: The government’s decision to amend and withdraw organized crime and money laundering charges against Rastriya Swatantra Party chair Rabi Lamichhane has emboldened other defendants facing large financial fraud cases.

On January 13, Attorney General Sabita Bhandari Baral approved amendments to charge sheets filed against Lamichhane in four district courts, effectively paving the way for withdrawal of the cases. The decision has since been challenged at the Supreme Court, where a writ petition questions its legality.

Soon after, on January 16, another application was filed at the Office of the Attorney General seeking withdrawal of cooperative fraud and money laundering cases involving former Dhorpatan mayor Devkumar Nepali of Baglung. The case involves a claimed loss of Rs 1.58 billion.

According to sources at the Attorney General’s Office, the application relates to the Image Cooperative fraud case and has been forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office in Baglung, which has jurisdiction over the matter. A final decision will be taken only after receiving legal opinion from the district office.

The application states that the accused are ready to return the depositors’ money if the cases are withdrawn. Nepali, who was chair of the cooperative, shut it down citing liquidity problems in April 2023 and went absconding. He was later arrested in New Delhi and brought back to Nepal. A red corner notice had also been issued against him.

The Baglung District Court has ordered him to be kept in judicial custody. Police records show that 1,543 depositors filed complaints accusing him of fraud. He also faces charges of failing to repay loans taken from the cooperative. Cases against Nepali and 10 other directors are still under trial. From the Pokhara branch alone, over Rs 500 million involving more than 500 depositors is alleged to have been misappropriated.

Meanwhile, a separate request for settlement has been filed in the Rs 610 million fraud case involving Ambey Koshi Savings and Credit Cooperative, headquartered in Itahari, Sunsari.

The cooperative was declared problematic by the Koshi Province government and faces charges of misappropriating deposits from over 13,000 people. The case remains under consideration at the Morang District Court, with no settlement reached so far.

People’s News Monitoring Service