GANDAKI, DECEMBER 23
Recording of statements of five defendants, including Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) president and former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, accused of co-operative fraud, will begin today at the Kaski District Court.
Earlier on Sunday, the Public Prosecution Service, Kaski, had filed a case against Lamichhane and 31 others on charges of cooperative fraud.
Lamichhane has also been charged with organized crime, money laundering and cooperative fraud.
District court information officer Suraj Adhikari said recording of statements of Lamichhane, Chhabilal Joshi and five other accused presented before the court has begun.
“The statements of the defendants will begin after the hearing is completed and the arrest warrant will be issued only after the statement is completed,” he said.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, a case has so far been filed in the Kaski District Court against 63 people in connection with the embezzlement from the Suryadarshan Cooperative in Pokhara.
Shanti Devi Sharma, assistant district attorney of the Kaski office, said 19 people, including Lamichhane, have also been arrested for organized crime. Similarly, a case has been filed against Lamichhane, Ram Bahadur Khanal, Chhabilal Joshi and Leela Pachai for money laundering.
A case has been registered against Lamichhane for money laundering with a claim of Rs 278.94 million. A case has been filed against Chhabilal Joshi on charges of money laundering.
Lamichhane was arrested from Kathmandu on October 18 on charges of embezzling the cooperative’s funds. He is also under investigation in Kaski and other districts on charges of mismanagement of cooperative funds.
The mastermind behind the Suryadarshan cooperative fraud, GB Rai and other suspects, are still absconding.
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