Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President and former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane is set to appear at the Rupandehi District Court today. He is scheduled to provide a statement following the filing of a case concerning the misappropriation of funds in Butwal’s Supreme Cooperative. Lamichhane had already reached Rupandehi from Kathmandu on Tuesday. On Tuesday afternoon, he landed in Bhairahawa from Kathmandu Airport accompanied by several lawyers and party workers.
Previously, Lamichhane was released on bail of NPR 65 lakh by the District Court of Kaski in connection with a case related to Surya Darshan Cooperative in Pokhara. Immediately after, he appeared at the Kathmandu District Court to give a statement regarding a case involving misappropriation of funds at Swarnalakshmi Cooperative in Kalimati. He was also released on bail of NPR 60 lakh in Kathmandu. Following his release, the Rupandehi Police submitted their investigation report to the Office of the Government Attorney.
While the investigation was ongoing in Kaski, an arrest warrant was issued against Lamichhane in connection with the Supreme Cooperative fraud case in Butwal. On 27 Kartik, Lamichhane gave his statement at the Office of the Government Attorney in Butwal.
The case concerning the Supreme Cooperative was registered in court on 3 Baisakh while Lamichhane was serving as Home Minister. At the time, it was claimed that 1,831 depositors’ funds amounting to NPR 86 crore 18 lakh 23 thousand 754 had been embezzled, and a case was filed against 28 individuals.
The initial phase of the investigation revealed that over NPR 14 crore 29 lakh from the Supreme Cooperative had been transferred to Gorkha Media Network Pvt. Ltd. Among this, NPR 2 crore was found to have been loaned to Rabi Lamichhane without following due process.
Gorkha Media Network had launched Galaxy TV on 11 Falgun 2077. Initially, Gitendra Babu Rai and Chhabilal Joshi were shareholders in Gorkha Media Network, each holding 2 lakh 50 thousand shares. Less than a year after the TV channel started, on 7 Poush 2078, Lamichhane became the Managing Director with 1 lakh 80 thousand shares. At that time, Rai held 80% (10 lakh 20 thousand shares), while Lamichhane held 15% of the shares.
Gitendra Babu Rai and his group were found to have invested millions of rupees from cooperatives operating in Kathmandu, Butwal, Pokhara, Chitwan, and Birgunj, among other cities, into Galaxy TV.
Additionally, it was mentioned that NPR 2 crore had been loaned in Rabi Lamichhane’s name. This loan was approved on 18 Chaitra 2077, and after deducting a service fee of NPR 4 lakh, NPR 1 crore 96 lakh was deposited into Gorkha Media Network’s account at Global IME Bank via a voucher.
