Cooperative fraud case: Three-hour statement recorded from Chhabilal Joshi in Kaski court

KATHMANDU: The statement recording process has begun at Kaski District Court in the embezzlement case involving Suryadarshan Cooperative’s savings.

Five defendants, including Rastriya Swatantra Party chair and former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, were present in court today.

According to court information officer Suraj Adhikari, statements were recorded only from Chhabilal Joshi under the supervision of District Judge Nitij Rai.

Adhikari mentioned that statements from the remaining defendants will start tomorrow, and once all statements are completed, detention debates and rulings will proceed.

The District Government Attorney’s Office, Kaski, had filed charges on Sunday, accusing Lamichhane and others of cooperative fraud, organized crime, and money laundering.

So far, 63 individuals have been charged in the case. Lamichhane is accused of misusing  27.89 crore rupees under money laundering laws and 3.37 crore rupees in cooperative fraud.

Similarly, Chhabilal Joshi faces allegations of misusing 74.34 crore rupees under money laundering laws and 5.26 crore rupees in cooperative fraud.

Other defendants, including Ram Bahadur Khanal and Leela Pachhai, have also been accused of embezzling substantial sums.