KATHMANDU: As the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, embarks on his visit to Nepal, the country witnesses a case of financial deceit.

Suruchi Bhujel, a Nepali woman, has been detained after allegedly swindling more than 2.5 million rupees from 90 individuals by leveraging a falsified signature purportedly belonging to Guterres.

Bhujel’s arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB) of Nepal Police last month culminated in her remand in custody by the District Court Kathmandu on Monday.

The CIB’s investigations revealed that the victims had been duped under the pretext of contributing to the reconstruction of earthquake-damaged structures in Turkey, an endeavor supposedly associated with the UN.

The aggrieved parties detailed the deception, citing the exploitation of Guterres’s signature and the false promise of employment opportunities in Turkey, orchestrated by Bhujel and her associates.

The CIB formally lodged a case against the perpetrators, seeking a potential prison term of up to 7 years.

Meanwhile, Suruchi’s husband, Binod Shrestha, and her brother, Sujan Bhujel, who have been implicated in the fraud, remain at large.