KATHMANDU: The Kaski District Court will begin closed-door hearings today on the cooperative fraud case filed against Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chair and former Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane.
The court will decide the bench of judges through a lottery system before the hearing.
The bench will then issue an order determining whether Lamichhane and other defendants will be released on bail or sent to trial.
The Kaski District Attorney’s Office filed the case on Sunday, charging Lamichhane, former DIG Chhabilal Joshi, and 44 others with cooperative fraud.
Five defendants have been named solely for asset confiscation. Lamichhane faces charges of organized crime, cooperative fraud, and money laundering.
Police investigations revealed that Lamichhane and others allegedly embezzled Rs 1.51 billion from Surya Darshan Cooperative. A deposit of Rs 54.8 million from the cooperative was reportedly transferred to Gorkha Media Network Pvt. Ltd.
According to the District Attorney’s Office in Kaski, Lamichhane has been charged with laundering Rs 278.944 million and defrauding Rs 33.765 million from the cooperative.
He was arrested in Kathmandu on October 18 in connection with the case.
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