Court Orders Release of Middleman in Tribhuvan Airport Visa Irregularity Case on NPR 200,000 Bail

Kathmandu. The Special Court has ordered the release of middleman Khem Prasad Subedi on a bail of NPR 200,000 in the case involving the collection of hundreds of thousands of rupees in the Tribhuvan International Airport visit visa scandal.

A bench comprising Special Court judges Narayan Prasad Poudel, Hemanta Rawal, and Dilli Ratna Shrestha ordered Subedi's release on bail. Subedi had appeared in court today after filing a petition to present himself before the court.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a case against Subedi on charges of corruption and money laundering in the name of visit visas, in collusion with the then chief of the Immigration Office, Tribhuvan International Airport, Tirtha Raj Bhattarai.

The CIAA had filed a case against six individuals, including Joint Secretary Tirtha Raj Bhattarai, on the 25th of Mangsir. Bhattarai, one of the defendants, has already been released on a bail of NPR 500,000. Subedi is accused of aiding in money laundering to hide and legitimize the money received by the main culprit, Bhattarai, as a bribe.

A claim was made seeking punishment against Subedi with a demanded amount of NPR 7,980,000 and NPR 10,379,600 towards money laundering. During the investigation, it was claimed that Subedi helped invest illegal money by having land located in Dadhikot, Bhaktapur, transferred in the name of Kavita Poudel, who is linked to Tirtha Raj Bhattarai.