KATHMANDU: Former Speaker and CPN (Maoist Centre) Vice-chair Krishna Bahadur Mahara, who was arrested by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) in connection with a gold smuggling case, has been released on bail. The Patan High Court on Thursday ordered his release on a bail amount of Rs 2 million.
Mahara was arrested on October 12 following fresh instructions from the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), which is conducting an inquiry into his alleged involvement in smuggling gold concealed inside electronic cigarettes (vapes) in collaboration with a Chinese organized group.
According to police, the CIAA had sought his detention to move forward with a renewed probe into his role in facilitating the entry of smuggled gold through the vape-import channel. Mahara had been questioned by the CIAA only days earlier, on October 9, at its Tangal office.
Although his name surfaced in the gold smuggling case three years ago, both the District Government Attorney’s Office and Nepal Police had previously freed him during earlier rounds of investigation. Authorities now allege that Mahara used his political influence to help a smuggling racket bring gold into Nepal in 2022, an operation that had also led to the arrest of his son, Rahul Mahara, on suspicion of involvement.
In March 2024, Mahara was arrested from Kapilvastu and brought to Kathmandu for questioning related to the case. The Kathmandu District Court later remanded him to custody, but he was allowed to stay at Norvic Hospital citing health complications.
A high-level government commission led by former High Court Chief Judge Dilli Raj Acharya had earlier criticized the CIB for “intentionally avoiding” a full investigation into Mahara and other senior officials allegedly linked to large-scale gold smuggling networks.
Sunday’s arrest was seen as a renewal of legal action against Mahara, who has consistently denied wrongdoing and was believed by many to have avoided prosecution due to political protection.
With the Patan High Court’s latest ruling, Mahara has been released on a Rs 2 million bail while the investigation, now directed by the CIAA, continues.
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