Supreme Cooperative fraud case: Charges filed against Rabi Lamichhane and 21 others

Butwal, January 19 — The Rupandehi District Government Attorney's Office has sent a case involving former Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane and 21 others to the District Court.

The case relates to the embezzlement of funds from the Supreme Savings and Credit Cooperative in Butwal.

The supplementary charges against the 22 individuals were sent to the court on Sunday, according to Premraj Paudel, the head of the District Government Attorney's Office. "We have just sent the case for registration against 17 individuals; it is unclear how long it will take for the court to proceed," he told Ratopati.

The embezzlement involved over NPR 86.18 million out of the total NPR 131 million saved by 10,391 members of the Supreme Cooperative. Among the misappropriated funds, over NPR 14 million were directed towards Gorkha Media Network.

On Friday, the police submitted a report recommending legal action against Rabi Lamichhane, former DIG Chhabilal Joshi, and 12 others. Based on this report, the legal process has now moved forward.

Ananta Marasini, the information officer at the Rupandehi District Court, mentioned that reviewing the documents could take a few hours or even up to a day. "Once all the documents are received, it will take 2-3 hours, or potentially a day, to review them," he explained.