KATHMANDU, Jan 2: The police have prepared an investigation report recommending legal action against 44 individuals involved in the misappropriation of funds from Swarnalaxmi Savings and Credit Cooperative. As per the report, police sought Rs 1.19 billion in fines from defendants.
A Kathmandu Police Range investigation found that Swarnalaxmi Savings and Credit Cooperative operators misappropriated Rs 1.19 billion out of Rs 2.66 billion deposited by 5,669 individuals. Based on these findings, the police have prepared a report recommending that 44 individuals involved in the misappropriation be made defendants and that a claim for damages equal to the misappropriated amount be filed against them.
The spokesperson for the Kathmandu Police Range, Kathmandu, SP Nabaraj Adhikari, stated that the investigation report will be submitted to the District Government Attorney's Office. "We couldn’t submit the investigation report on Swarnalaxmi Savings and Credit Cooperative to the District Government Attorney's Office, Kathmandu, on Wednesday due to time constraints, but it will be submitted on Thursday," said SP Adhikari.
According to him, the investigation report has identified 44 individuals as defendants, including Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairman Rabi Lamichhane.
Cooperative fraud case: Rabi Lamichhane found complicit, Dhanra...
The investigation has found that Swarnalaxmi Savings and Credit Cooperative in Kathmandu disbursed loans to 12 companies, including Herbo International Pvt Ltd. and Gorkha Media Networks by violating the Cooperative Act and regulations.
According to Kathmandu Police Range spokesperson SP Adhikari, the 12 companies that received loans are Devdeep Agri Export, Mandara Tours and Expedition, Gorkha Herbal Production, Kumkum Herbal Industries, New Sulax Offset, Gorkha Group of Companies, Saregama Records, and Bhagwati Baluwakhani, among others.
On November 6, Sunita Newa, a member of the Accounts Committee of Swarnalaxmi Savings and Credit Cooperative, was arrested, and on November 11, Kamal Lama, a member of the Loan Subcommittee, was also arrested. The police have prepared a report recommending that 44 individuals, including Gitendra Babu (GB) Rai, former DIG Chhabilal Joshi, Deepak Lama, Kumar Ramte, and Nabin Achhami, who were involved in the misappropriation of funds from the cooperative, be made defendants and legal action be taken against them. Lama is GB's brother-in-law.
The operators of Swarnalaxmi Cooperatives were accused of embezzling public deposits, leading depositors to file a complaint with the police on April 28, 2024. After the cooperative failed to return the savings for two years, the depositors registered a complaint at the Kalimati Police Station. They staged protests, claiming that the operators had fled without returning their deposits.
The depositors filed complaints against the former chairperson of the cooperative, Kalpana Shrestha (who served as chairperson in 2017), Deepak Lama (who became chairperson in 2021), GB Rai (who became chairperson in 2023), cooperative manager Nabin Achhami, and Rastriya Swatantra Party chairman Lamichhane. The police began the investigation after the cooperative failed to return the savings to the depositors.
An international arrest warrant, or Red Corner Notice, has been issued by Interpol against GB Rai, the mastermind behind the misappropriation. He has been charged with embezzling funds from Surydarshan in Pokhara and Supreme Cooperatives in Butwal, and a case has already been filed against him in court.
It has been found that Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chairman Lamichhane also took loans twice from Swarnalaxmi Cooperative and repaid some of the amount. According to police officers involved in the investigation, Rai and Lamichhane had taken loans under joint account names. On August 20, 2021, they took a "four-wheeler loan," and on October 18, 2021, they took a loan for purchasing an "Eco Seven-Seater Van." The records from Swarnalaxmi revealed that they borrowed Rs 4.698 million for the four-wheeler loan, but Rs 3.221 million remains unpaid.
Similarly, they took a loan of Rs 4.688 million for purchasing the "Eco Seven-Seater Van," of which Rs 2.952 million remains unpaid, as revealed by the investigation. The police have seized 35 vouchers related to the illegal loans disbursed under the names of Rai, Lamichhane, and others, and are continuing their investigation.
It has been found that Rs 18.2 million was illegally embezzled from Swarnalaxmi Cooperative to Gorkha Media Network. Rai, Lamichhane, and others involved in the case have not repaid the Rs 18.2 million taken from Gorkha Media. Currently, a detention hearing is underway at the Kaski District Court in the case against Lamichhane.
