KATHMANDU: The Kaski Public Prosecutor’s Office has requested the confiscation of assets linked to Nikita Poudel, wife of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chair Rabi Lamichhane, in a money laundering case.
Poudel is listed as the 44th defendant in the case.
Among the assets targeted for confiscation is a house worth Rs 38.5 million, registered in Poudel ‘s name, located in Budhanilkantha Municipality, Kathmandu. The house was purchased on December 9, 2019.
The charge sheet also requests the confiscation of a 550 square metre plot of land in Kavrepalanchok, which is under Lamichhane’s name. The land was reportedly acquired through a share distribution in 1996.
Additionally, the prosecutor has sought the confiscation of Rs 774,774.59 from the bank accounts of Lamichhane and Poudel, as the source of these funds remains unconfirmed.
The asset forfeiture is part of an investigation into a larger money laundering and cooperative fraud scheme, involving the illegal mobilization of Rs 750 million by the GB Rai Group, linked to Gorkha Media Network.
It is believed that a portion of these funds, including Rs 3.5 million deposited into Poudel’s account, may have been illegally transferred abroad through cryptocurrency or hundi.
The Kaski Public Prosecutor’s Office is pursuing the confiscation of these assets under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2007.
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