KATHMANDU: The case surrounding businessman Amit Shrestha has raised a question mark over the police investigation.

The organization, which is responsible for controlling and preventing crime, enforcing the law, maintaining public order, and protecting people and their property, has come under scrutiny in this case.

Shrestha has been accused of “illegally conducting hundi transactions from Nepal and depositing it in a foreign bank account opened in his name”.

However, the story seems confusing since police arrested Shrestha without an arrest warrant on charges of cryptocurrency trading.

The police extended the period for indecent behavior to keep them in custody, and when the seized electronic devices (laptops, mobiles) were tested in the forensic lab of the police, there was a report that no transaction of crypto was found.

The police filed a case against Shrestha on three grounds.

The government side claims that 194 thousand 285.56 Australian dollars (about 15 million Nepali rupees) were deposited in Shrestha’s account in Australia’s Commonwealth Bank of Australia from 7 January 2019 to 24 April 2019.

As another proof, the government took as evidence the Aadhaar in the name of Shrestha in the name of 2 lakh 32 thousand 3 Canadian dollars, (about 1 crore 95 lakh 46 thousand 252.80) according to the exchange rate of that time, from 2 July 2019 to 8 August 2019 in the account at ‘Royal Bank of Canada’ in Canada.

While registering the case, the state took the help of two photographs to prove that Shrestha invested Canadian dollars in the year 2021.

The photo is a screenshot of the Yahoo Finance App. In that screenshot, there is no detail that the screenshot was taken from Amit Shrestha’s Yahoo Finance App.

Shrestha himself has given the username and password of his Yahoo Finance App to the police during the investigation.

But based on the screenshot of the Yahoo Finance App, the state has not been able to mention anything in the details of Amit Shrestha’s Yahoo Finance App.

In addition, the screenshot of the Yahoo Finance App, which is the basis of the accusation, is not a description created for the purpose of reflecting the stock investment of a person.

Yahoo Finance App is used by anyone to download and monitor the price of the company and the stock of their choice over a period of time.

On the day (2079/04/22) when the case was filed against Amit Shrestha, one of his relatives downloaded the Yahoo Finance App and mentioned various share details.

Based on a screenshot of an app used to project hypothetical share investments, it is an exaggeration to say that a hypothetical amount has been invested in Canada.

Although Shrestha has been accused of taking money from Nepal to foreign countries through hundi, no evidence has been presented regarding sending money from Nepal to foreign countries.

Allegations regarding Canadian Stock Holdings 

Shrestha is accused of buying shares worth Rs 44,08,64,016.59 in Canada in 2021.

Firstly, it is not illegal for Nepalis to buy shares abroad.

Second, the fact that the total value of shares purchased by Shrestha in Canada in 2021 is 5,319.59 Canadian dollars.

Royal Bank of Canada, Direct Investing has submitted to the Canada Revenue Agency Amit Shrestha’s 2021 “T5/NR4 Summary of Investment Income and “Expense for 2021” which is clear from the details provided.

This fact is also clear from the income tax statement submitted by Amit Shrestha and his wife to the Canadian tax office for the year 2021.

Thus, in 2021, Amit Shrestha’s total investment and accumulated shares are equivalent to Canadian dollars 5,319.59.

Since Shrestha is a permanent resident of Canada, it is natural to open an account in Canada.

And the fact that the account was closed after withdrawing the amount from the Australian account also makes it clear that during the opening of the said account, the amount was deposited in his Australian account.

Similarly, even though a case has been registered that there are 2,32,003 Canadian dollars in the Royal Bank of Canada, there are currently only 5,000 Canadian dollars in that account.

It is mentioned in the case that the said amount is till August 8, 2019.

And till 8th August 2019, the said amount is proven from the bank statement that is not in that account.

From July 1, 2019, to August 22, 2019, it appears that there is a total balance of Canadian dollars 233.88 in that account.

At the time of filing the lawsuit, the lawsuit has been filed saying that the total amount deposited and withdrawn in the said bank account is 2,32,003 Canadian dollars.

In fact, a lawsuit has been filed saying that the total amount of Canadian dollars in the bank account is 233.88 Canadian dollars.

In any case, the state is motivated by the intention to investigate and prosecute in a biased manner.

Initially, he was detained for an investigation related to cryptocurrency.

But after no evidence was found, a case was registered in the case of indecent behavior.

In that case, Rs 2,000 was remanded in custody to investigate the offense under the Bank and Financial Institutions Act before being released on bail.

Even the court extended the detention period in the same case. But the case was not filed according to the Bank and Financial Institutions Act 2073.

In the end, a case was filed under the Nepal Rastra Bank Act, alleging that there was a hundi transaction.

Whereas in the case of people doing hundi transactions, the state will file a case under the Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act 2019)

It is clear that the reason for not filing a case under the Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act 2019 in the present case is that the court can acquit the defendant in the case under the said Act.

In addition to that, the indictment against Amit Shrestha is an offense under Section 95 of the Rastra Bank Act 2058, an indictment against a person who deals in cryptocurrency.

Whereas in the case of Amit Shrestha, it is not even mentioned in the indictment that he deals in crypto-currency.

Shrestha was employed in an international organization in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2014 and later operated his own business.

In the course of business, he has also established a company in Dubai and has been supplying materials to the British government and other agencies in Afghanistan.

Letters, certificates, and letters of recommendation related to employment and business operations are also included.

Shrestha worked for an international organization in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2014 and later operated his own business.

At the same time, he had also established a company in Dubai and was supplying materials to the British government and other agencies in Afghanistan.

In addition to that, Shrestha was honored by the British government with a title for his company’s supply of various materials to the British army.

Shrestha used to pay the amount of material given to the British army in Afghanistan in the account of “Standard Chartered Bank” in Dubai.

He brought the income from employment and business in Afghanistan to Nepal and invested in various businesses and also added other assets.