Rabi Lamichhane, the chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), has denied allegations of financial crimes, claiming that cheques used by Gorkha Media were misused. During his statement, Lamichhane alleged that Gorkha Media’s operator, Gitendra Babu Rai, may have deceived him and acted without his knowledge.
On Sunday, a case was filed at the Kaski District Court against Lamichhane and others, accusing them of cooperative fraud, organized crime, and money laundering. Lamichhane, however, denied the charges, stating that he had no involvement in fraudulent activities.
“I believe the cheques in question were either misused blank cheques that I signed in good faith or cheques used under Gitendra Babu Rai’s instructions without my knowledge,” Lamichhane said in his statement. He further suggested that Rai might have filled in cooperative details on the cheques after obtaining his signature.
Lamichhane clarified that he had not taken any loans from cooperatives or participated in any loan processes. “Numerous payments were made to vendors and financial institutions through cheques under the supervision and instructions of GB Rai, the executive chairman and investor. Each payment was verified and cleared by Rai,” he added.
According to Lamichhane, during his tenure, there were no board decisions to take loans from cooperatives, and he was never formally or informally informed about such transactions. He explained that due to his busy schedule and frequent travels outside the Kathmandu Valley, he had occasionally signed blank cheques to ensure company operations ran smoothly in his absence.
“If those blank cheques were misused and deposited into cooperative accounts, I had no knowledge of it. Gorkha Media never made any agreements or board decisions to borrow money from cooperatives, individuals, or companies. To the best of my knowledge, the payments in question were not related to any loan installments or interest payments,” Lamichhane stated.
Lamichhane emphasized that his actions were based on trust and were meant to keep the company functioning, but he denied any wrongdoing related to the alleged financial crimes.
