Joshi sent part of the booty to Nepal<br/>NRB freezes his accounts after US request

KATHMANDU, Dec 4: Preliminary investigation has found that Pankaj Joshi who allegedly swiped a customer´s $1 million lottery prize in the US and sneaked into Nepal has transferred $290,000 to a finance company in Nepal. [break]

Nepali accused of stealing $1M lottery prize in USA

Lottery ´thief´ declared winner but indicted for fraud

As per the investigation carried out by Financial Information Unit (FIU) of Nepal Rastra Bank following a request from US Department of Justice in October-end, Joshi had transferred the amount, out of the $750,000 after taxes that he allegedly swiped, to an account at Bank of Kathmandu (BOK), a government source told myrepublica.com.

Joshi transferred $290K to BOK, and then to a finance company

NRB has frozen his accounts at the finance company

Dept of Revenue Investigation takes up the case

No trace of Joshi, remaining amount yet

Few more months may take to reach a conclusion

"It has also been found that he has transferred the amount from BOK to two separate accounts belonging to himself and Puja Joshi at ICFC Finance Company," the source said.

Both the accounts at the finance company were frozen by the central bank last week, said the source, adding that Joshi had transferred the money to BOK from US-based JP Morgan Chase Bank.

The source said the FIU has forwarded the case to the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI), which is the agency responsible for investigation into money laundering cases.

The source, however, said the investigation agencies have not been able to find any clue on whereabouts of Joshi. "We have not yet been able to trace him and the remaining amount if that was also transferred to Nepal," the source said.

When contacted, one of the officials at DRI confirmed that the department has received the case from the central bank. "The department has appointed an investigation officer for the case and it might take a few months to reach a specific conclusion," said the official. He declined further comments.

According to news reports, Willy Willis, who is believed to be the rightful lottery winner, handed the winning tickets to Joshi in May last year and asked him to check whether the ticket have won the prize. Joshi (25), who was working as a convenience store clerk, kept the tickets himself and swiped the prize. He faces second degree felony charges in the US. If convicted, he can face jail term for up to 20 years.

prem@myrepublica.com