The Kathmandu District Court has granted Rabi Lamichhane, chair of the Rastriya Swatantra Party and former home minister, bail of Rs6 million. Authorities suspect that Rabi Lamichhane is involved in the Swarnalakshmi Cooperative fraud case. A pre-trial remand hearing led by Judge Madhav Prasad Adhikari announced the decision on Wednesday.
Lamichhane appeared in court on Sunday, just days after he was granted bail in a separate case involving the Suryadarshan Cooperative in Pokhara. The Kaski District Court had granted him bail of Rs6.5 million after keeping him in detention for 84 days.
The Swarnalakshmi Cooperative case claims that Lamichhane and 38 associates have misappropriated Rs1.199 billion. Allegations include a systematic diversion of funds to Gorkha Media Network, where Lamichhane served as its managing director prior to becoming a politician in 2022. The main people involved include Chhabilal Joshi, Gitendra Babu Rai, and Kumar Ramtel. They, along with others, allegedly siphoned cooperative funds into the defunct Galaxy 4K Television.
Authorities are probing more cooperative fraud cases in districts such as Butwal, Chitwan, and Parsa. Police say that individuals siphoned off the money through a coordinated effort across several cooperatives. Authorities have reported similar financial crimes in these areas..
Lamichhane has vowed to cooperate fully with the probe. Moreover, his legal battle is part of the increasing scrutiny over the misuse of cooperative funds. This has, in turn, led to a wider review of financial practices in Nepal’s cooperative sector.
