DHANGADHI: Rabi Lamichhane, Chairman of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and former Home Minister, has acknowledged that Gorkha Media Network improperly received funds from a cooperative organization.
During a press briefing in Dhangadhi on Monday, Lamichhane, who also served as the Managing Director of Gorkha Media, confirmed that the cooperative funds were invested in the media.
“It is right that the funds from the cooperatives were wrongly received by Gorkha Media and other entities,” Lamichhane told reporters.
“This has been established through investigation. However, the specifics of who orchestrated the misuse are now a matter for the court. It is becoming clear who was responsible for the misconduct.”
According to Lamichhane, GB Rai of Okhaldhunga used cooperative funds to establish Galaxy Television under Gorkha Media.
Investments from Butwal’s Supreme Cooperative and Pokhara’s Suryadarshan Cooperative were made illegally in this venture.
Previously, Lamichhane had claimed ignorance of the situation. However, on Monday in Dhangadhi, he admitted that investigations have confirmed the cooperative funds were indeed used as an investment in Galaxy Television, operated by Gorkha Media Network.
Despite this admission, Lamichhane has denied any personal involvement in the misappropriation of the cooperative funds.
He expressed confidence that the parliamentary investigation committee will uncover the truth.
The Parliamentary Special Investigation Committee, led by CPN-UML MP Surya Bahadur Thapa, is currently probing the case.
Lamichhane has provided a nine-hour statement to the committee, and Kaski police officers have traveled to Kathmandu to take additional statements from him.
Meanwhile, GB Rai, Lamichhane’s partner and Chairman of Gorkha Media Network, is currently evading arrest in Malaysia, according to sources.
The police headquarters has dispatched additional teams to Malaysia, and Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has indicated that the search efforts are ongoing but conducted discreetly.
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