Abhishek Giri Accused of Fraud, Threatening, and Acquiring Property Through Illicit Means

Biratnagar. Abhishek Giri of Biratnagar, who is in the custody of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police on charges of running a network of fraud and criminal breach of trust, has been found to have purchased land in various places in the name of his wife. Giri, who is facing serious allegations of causing significant financial loss to construction entrepreneurs and threatening to kill them to forcibly transfer property in Kathmandu, has been found to have acquired land in various districts in the name of his wife, Sonu Acharya. Giri's detention was extended by three days by the Kathmandu District Court on Tuesday, and the CIB is continuing its investigation. Morang Police are also investigating the source of the property held in the names of his family members. According to sources, Giri purchased land in eight different locations in Kathmandu's Budhanilkantha, Dhankuta, and Morang in the name of his wife Sonu, with a deadline of 2082 BS. He also passed deeds for four plots of land totaling 2 bigha and 16 katthas in Morang's Babiyabirta, which were about to be auctioned by the bank, on the same day, October 27, 2082 BS. Abhishek Giri, 48, of Madhumara, Biratnagar-8, was arrested by the police on Monday based on a complaint filed by construction entrepreneur Subhash Shrestha and taken to Kathmandu. Police claim that Giri forcibly transferred the property in Budhanilkantha while purchasing Shrestha's land. 'Giri pressured to transfer the house and land worth 45 million rupees for 1.8 million,' a police source said.

Where is the land?

According to the police, Giri has acquired land in nine places in the name of his wife Sonu Acharya between 2080 and 2082 BS. Kathmandu's Budhanilkantha area is considered a very expensive and well-facilitated area. According to the land revenue office records, a house and land located in plot number 1039, spread over an area of 217.01 square meters in the former Vishnu VDC, now Budhanilkantha Municipality Ward No. 7, Kathmandu, have been registered solely in the name of Sonu Acharya. This house and land were transferred to Acharya's name through a resignation deed passed on November 14, 2082 BS. Similarly, land in plot number 192, with a total area of 1822.37 square meters, in the former Katahari VDC, now Katahari Rural Municipality Ward No. 4, Morang, was registered in Sonu Acharya's name on December 11, 2080 BS. The legality of the financial source used to purchase this large residential land is now being questioned. Furthermore, land in plot number 379, with an area of 4555.52 square meters, in Babiyabirta Ward No. 3, Morang, was transferred to Sonu Acharya's name on October 27, 2082 BS. Other lands in plots number 108, 111, 105, and 106 in the same ward are also registered in Acharya's name. These lands were brought into Sonu Acharya's name through a process of acquisition after being auctioned by third parties from banks and financial institutions. It is unclear from which business or source Acharya obtained the funds to acquire these lands worth millions solely in her name through the bank's auction process. Another plot of land with an area of 336.63 square meters in plot number 6582, located in Biratnagar Metropolitan City Ward No. 6, Morang, was also transferred to Sonu Acharya's ownership through a resignation deed passed on April 2, 2082 BS. In addition, a commercial land with an area of 562.40 square meters in plot number 1263, in the former Karkichhap, now Dhankuta Municipality Ward No. 5, Dhankuta district, is also registered in Sonu Acharya's name. This land was also purchased through a resignation deed on July 7, 2082 BS. Security sources claim that the total area of all these lands combined amounts to thousands of square meters, with a current market value of millions of rupees.

What is in Shrestha's complaint?

The written complaint submitted by Subhash Shrestha, operator of Shrestha Construction Company Pvt. Ltd., to the home administration and police has exposed Abhishek Giri's terrifying criminal modus operandi. The victim Shrestha stated in the complaint that due to Giri's terror, who boasts of his influence and threatens to kill if demands are not met, he and his family have been living under extreme mental and physical stress for a long time. According to 51-year-old Subhash Shrestha, a permanent resident of Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City Ward No. 4, Makwanpur, and currently residing in Baluwatar, Kathmandu, he met Giri about a year and a half ago. Abhishek Giri, a native of Biratnagar, claimed during their first meeting that he was close to influential leaders of major political parties, including the Nepali Congress, and could easily secure large contracts under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport due to his influence. Based on that trust, Shrestha's company had agreed to work on the 'Ratuwa Kesaliya Road Upgradation Project' (Morang) under the Postal Highway Directorate Planning Office, Itahari. Giri, through his company 'R.C. Suppliers & Construction Pvt. Ltd.', had signed a written sub-contract agreement with Shrestha's company on January 25, 2081 BS, promising to complete this work in Eastern Nepal on time. However, the complaint states that Giri's intentions changed immediately after the agreement. Instead of showing any progress in the road construction work as per the terms of the agreement, Giri kept demanding money from the victim Shrestha under various pretexts. When Shrestha inquired about the delay in starting the work, Giri forced him to sign blank checks. When Shrestha pressured him to expedite the government project which was stalled, Giri took advantage of the impending expiry of the main contract and halted the work. He further stated that the project would not proceed unless the money he was supposed to receive was paid first, pushing the project into complete crisis. Ultimately, due to Giri's non-cooperation and negligence, the multi-million rupee main contract for the postal highway was canceled, and the entire financial and legal burden fell on Shrestha. The complaint also mentions that Giri violated the contract agreement in the Biratnagar-Ghinaghat road project in a similar manner. Then began Giri's next series of looting. Giri took possession of valuable construction equipment owned by Shrestha's construction company. The complaint specifically states that Giri sold the Hitachi-110 excavator (Ko 1 Cha 1506) and a tipper located at the project site as scrap without any information. Furthermore, Giri, using his armed thugs, took control of other valuable machinery such as graders and water tankers. When asked to return the equipment, Giri threatened Shrestha and his family members, saying he would break their limbs, cut them, kill them, and make them disappear. Taking advantage of this fear and the desperate mindset of saving their lives, Giri planned to seize the house and land in Budhanilkantha-7, owned by Shrestha, measuring 217.01 square meters in plot number 1039. To save his and his family's lives, Shrestha was forced to surrender to Giri's threats and transfer the valuable house and land to the name of Sonu Acharya, who is said to be Giri's youngest wife. According to the complaint, Shrestha's family has still not been freed from fear even six months after the land was registered. Not only this, Giri's financial exploitation does not end here. He filled one of the blank checks he obtained through forced signatures with an amount of 54.56 million rupees in his favor and drew it in the name of a person named Chandra Kumar Shah. Based on that check, Giri also filed a case of banking offense (check bounce) against Shrestha at the District Police Office, Morang, according to the complaint. Giri also keeps other signed blank checks with him, posing a threat that could put Shrestha in further legal trouble at any time. Subhash Shrestha is not the only victim of Giri's fraud. According to the complaint, Giri committed financial crimes in a similar manner in a transaction with land dealer Binod Kumar Gupta of Hetauda. Giri had paid 15 million rupees as a down payment to buy Gupta's land. However, while returning the down payment, Giri threatened to kill Gupta and forcibly took a check for 5 million rupees in his own name. In the complaint, the victim Shrestha has demanded the return of all seized machinery, land, and forcibly taken blank checks, along with the harshest legal action against Giri and the security of his family's life and property.

10.7 Million Rupees from Mudda Sales in Abhishek Giri's Account

Meanwhile, it has been found that 10.7 million rupees from the sale of mudda (traditional Nepali mats) woven by inmates of Morang Jail for the past four years have been going into the accounts of Abhishek Giri and his associate Sanjay Kumar Mandal. Morang Police investigation has revealed that a large amount from the sale of mudda made by the inmates from 2079 BS to the present has been deposited into the accounts of Giri and his associates. Traders Vijay Saha and his son Abhishek Saha from Kathmandu and Dilliram Pant from Chitwan used to purchase the mudda and carpets produced by the jail inmates. Police said that the payments for the purchased goods were sent to the accounts of Giri and his associate Mandal. According to preliminary investigation, trader Saha deposited 5.5 million rupees and Pant deposited 5.2 million rupees into the accounts of Giri and individuals designated by him. The amount was deposited into Giri's Nepal Investment Bank account, his associate Sanjay Mandal's Citizens Bank account, and Kamana Sewa Bikas Bank account. According to the details, more than 2.4 million rupees were deposited into Giri and his associate's accounts by June 2026 alone. Trader Saha has repeatedly sent large sums of money to the NAB Bank account. He sent 411,380 rupees on April 3, 2024, and 449,000 rupees on March 22. Similarly, vouchers show that 454,500 rupees were sent via IPS on February 15 and 431,480 rupees on March 4 through Kumari Bank. According to the details, 449,360 rupees were deposited into Sanjay Kumar Mandal's Citizens Bank account. It appears that Abhishek Saha deposited this amount on June 11, 2024. Giri and Mandal were also partners in contracts recently. Mandal is also the ward president of Nepali Congress, Katari-2. The jail's 'A Block' internal administration claims that this amount is the recovery from mudda sales and inmate summer allowances. Out of 1,199 inmates in Morang Jail, about 500 weave mudda and 100 weave carpets. The materials they produce through labor reach the markets of Kathmandu and Chitwan, but the payment goes directly to Giri's personal account. According to the prison administration, an average of one truck of mudda was sold per month, collecting 3 to 4 hundred thousand rupees. Similarly, it is alleged that Giri's associates forcibly collected 1.36 million rupees distributed to 544 inmates in 'Block B' of Morang Jail on Asar 12, at a rate of 2500 rupees per person. Police claim that Vinod Singh, vegetable supplier Vijay Kamat, and some prison staff were also involved in this recovery along with Mandal. Based on that information, the police arrested Giri from his residence in Madhumara, Biratnagar-8, on Asar 13. Although Giri was taken to Morang Court on Monday for extension of detention on charges of organized crime and money laundering, the court ordered his release for investigation. However, immediately after his release from court, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the police re-arrested him and took him to Kathmandu. His associates have been granted a 7-day extension by the Morang District Court for further investigation.