KATHMANDU: Nepal seems to be currently in an uproar due to the involvement of high-ranking political leaders in a fraudulent scam that revolves around fabricating Nepali citizens as Bhutanese refugees and orchestrating their “resettlement” to the United States.

This is nothing but an attempt to illicitly earn money.

This scam has not only created uproar within Nepal but is likely to have a detrimental impact on Nepal’s international reputation.

In fact, if Dr. Sundar Mani Dixit’s remarks are to be considered, this has “criminalized” Nepal in the eyes of the international community, particularly the United States.

Police sources, meanwhile, say the investigation into the scam is reportedly in its “final stage,” indicating significant progress in uncovering the truth behind it.

As of Thursday evening, significant developments have been made in the case, with the police apprehending as many as a dozen individuals. These arrests include top political leaders, government officials, and others.

Police have arrested Bal Krishna Khand, former Home Minister and Nepali Congress’ influential leader; Keshab Dulal, who previously served as the personal secretary to Nepali Congress leader Sujata Koirala; Indrajit Rai, former Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal’s Security Advisor; Tek Narayan Pandey, former Home Secretary; Sandeep Rayamajhi, son of Top Bahadur Rayamajhi; Sandesh Sharma, Sagar Rai and Sanu Bhandari.

And alarmingly, following the formation of the task force, the group involved in fabricating fake Bhutanese refugee documents became active, exacerbating the worries surrounding the authenticity of the refugee claims.

Meanwhile, an arrest warrant has been issued against former Deputy Prime Minister and CPN-UML’s Secretary (now suspended) Top Bahadur Rayamajhi for his alleged involvement in the scam.

Despite his party’s instruction to “cooperate with the investigation” Rayamajhi remains at large, evading capture.

Furthermore, arrest warrants have also been issued against Prateek Thapa (son of Ram Bahadur Thapa); Niraj (son of Indrajit Rai), and several others, who are absconding.

The scam has also implicated Nepali Congress (NC) lawmakers Manju Khand (wife of Bal Krishna Khand) and Arzu Rana Deuba (wife of Sher Bahadur Deuba).

An audio recording, which is now with the police, indicates the involvement of Arzu Rana and Manju Khand in the scam and had received payments.

Ironically, even Prem Kumar Rai, the Chief of the anti-corruption constitutional body – the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) – too is under scrutiny.

His involvement in the issue has raised concerns, particularly due to the fact that the names of Nepali nationals were included in a report sent to the Council of Ministers office via the Ministry of Home Affairs during his tenure as Home Secretary.

This has brought Rai under scrutiny as questions arise about his potential role in the inclusion of Nepali nationals as Bhutanese refugees.

It should be noted that on June 13, 2019, a task force was formed within Nepal’s Home Ministry headed by Bal Krishna Panthi, who served as the Joint Secretary during that time.

The taks force was entrusted with the responsibility to assess the situation of Bhutanese refugees residing in refugee camps in eastern Nepal.

The mandate of the task force was to examine the conditions of the refugees and provide recommendations regarding their potential resettlement in a third country.

During that time, Ram Bahadur Thapa “Badal”, who currently serves as the Vice-Chairman of CPN-UML, held the position of Home Minister, while Prem Bahadur Rai, who is now the CIAA Chief, served as the Home Secretary.

The Panthi-led task force prepared and submitted the report stating the presence of 429 individuals who were officially recognized as Bhutanese refugees by the UNHCR.

However, concerns arose about the potential inclusion of individuals with fraudulent claims in the list compiled by the task force.

And alarmingly, following the formation of the task force, the group involved in fabricating fake Bhutanese refugee documents became active, exacerbating the worries surrounding the authenticity of the refugee claims.

Meanwhile, police have also taken into custody Sagar Rai, the former ward chair of Pathari Shanishchare-10, who was actively seeking individuals willing to pay a sum of money in exchange for fraudulent refugee status and an opportunity to migrate to the United States.

Interestingly, Rai’s arrest marked a significant step in the efforts to dismantle the network involved in the fraudulence.

Police sources claimed that these “fake refugees” went to the extent of selling their own properties, including houses.

Shockingly, they also handed over substantial sums of money, ranging from Rs 1-5 million to the members of the group orchestrating the scam.

However, these people did not receive refugee identity cards despite assurances.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a UN agency looking after the refugee issue worldwide, too, expressed serious concerns over the issue.

In the report prepared by the Panthi-led task force, it was recommended that the Home Ministry issued identity cards to 429 individuals who had not passed the verification process.

However, according to sources, the Home Ministry during the tenure of Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal, instructed the district administration offices in Jhapa and Morang to re-verify the number of Bhutanese refugees.

According to complaints lodged with the police, the fraudulent scam managed to deceive a total of 81 individuals, resulting in a collective loss of over Rs 136.30 million.

Following the revelation of the scam to the public, the number of complainants has risen to 106 individuals.

Minister for Home Affairs, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, meanwhile, has assured that the government would crack down on the nexus involved in the scam of sending people to the US in the cover of Bhutanese refugees.

Home Minister Shrestha said anyone found guilty in the case would be prosecuted while no innocent would be blamed for the incident.

Describing the scam as one of the forms of organized crime and “a crime against the State”, he said this is not just a case of corruption; it is an organized crime involving the people from top to bottom.

“This is a crime against the State to make the people Statelessness,” he said adding that the government would conclude the matter substantively.

According to him, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, too, has given him what he said is “strong back support”.

Bhutanese refugee issue

In 1990, a large number of Nepali-speaking people from Bhutan (locally called Lhotshampas) were forced to flee from Bhutan – mostly from Southern Bhutan and entered Nepal through India and settled in the districts of Jhapa and Morang.

According to government data, around 113,000 Bhutanese refugees, who were languishing in seven different refugee camps in Nepal’s eastern districts of Jhapa and Morang were resettled in third countries, including the United States, the UK, Australia, Canada, and The Netherlands.

Around 90,000 of the refugees were resettled in the US alone.

Meanwhile, presently, as many as 6,577 individuals identifying themselves as Bhutanese refugees are languishing in refugee camps in Morang.

UNHRC’s take

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a UN agency looking after the refugee issue worldwide, too, expressed serious concerns over the issue.

The UN body has also welcomed the investigation being conducted by Nepal Police.

It has made it clear that the resettlement process of the Bhutanese refugees from Nepal was formally closed on December 31, 2016.

According to UNHCR, there was no possibility to start the process again.