Rabi Lamichhane responds to fraud charges: ‘No knowledge of account sources’

Kathmandu, February 4 — A supplementary charge sheet has been filed in the Chitwan District Court regarding the Sahara Chitwan Multi-Purpose Cooperative fraud case.

According to Chitwan District Court's information officer, Amrit Bishwakarma, the government attorney's office initially filed charges against 17 individuals involved in the cooperative fraud and later added 15 more individuals, including Rabi Lamichhane, the suspended president of the Rashtriya Swatantra Party and former Home Minister, under the organized crime charge.

The charge sheet states that Rabi Lamichhane, the former managing director of Gorkha Media, issued four cheques in the name of his wife, Nikita Paudel, during his tenure.

Additionally, two cheques were issued in the name of Gopikrishna Movies, which was linked to his wife.

The charge sheet reads, “Through four cheques signed by Rabi Lamichhane from the bank account of Gorkha Media Network, where he was the managing director and shareholder, a total of NPR 5,93,82,51 was paid in the name of his wife, Nikita Paudel, and an additional NPR 81,25,000 was paid in the name of Gopikrishna Movies.”

However, Lamichhane has claimed that he was not aware of the source of income for the accounts.

"At that time, I had not yet joined the company, but since I had already committed to the role, I was possibly included in the bank account for verification purposes. If the official bank records show my signature on those cheques, I confirm it," Lamichhane stated in his defense.

He further clarified that the cheques were issued as per agreements, contracts, and board decisions under the directive of the executive chairman, Giten Babu Rai.

Lamichhane added, "I don’t have a record of the number of cheques issued, but I followed the company’s rules and the chairman's directives."

He also explained that his signature on blank cheques was part of a standard practice to ensure smooth operations.

"This is a matter of trust. In the private sector, it’s challenging to operate without reasonable trust," he added, while asserting that he had no involvement in the company’s financial dealings.