KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 18

Former Deputy Prime Minister and President of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Rabi Lamichhane, was arrested today at the RSP central office in Baneshwor, Kathmandu, in connection with a cooperative fraud case.

A team from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB) had arrived at the RSP central office in Baneshwor, Kathmandu and arrested Lamichhane.

The arrest follows an arrest warrant earlier issued by the single bench of Justice Krishna Jung Shah of the Kaski District Court.

The Kaski District Court on Friday issued arrest warrants for 14 people, including Lamichhane. Among them are Lamichhane, Bishal Tamang, Navin Achhami, Rabina Rimal, Ashraf Ali Siddiqui, Deepak Lama, Ananta Babu Rai and Ram Bahadur Khanal, Devendra Babu Rai, Vigyan Rai, Om Prakash Gurung, Bir Bahadur Ranabhat, Deepa Neupane and Kalpana. Kumari Shrestha.

It was learned that the Kaski District Police Office had formally requested the CIB and other security agencies to apprehend Lamichhane and transport him to Kaski for further legal proceedings. Lamichhane will be taken to Kaski today by road following Lamichhane’s request.

Along with the cooperative fraud charges, Lamichhane was also accused of participation in organized crime, broadening the scope of the legal proceedings against him.

A large number of security forces were deployed to the RSP premises following the issuance of the arrest warrant, and many RSP supporters gathered in front of the closed gates of the party headquarters.

After the arrest warrant was issued, Lamichhane took to social media to criticize the government, posting: “The government is dead…”

The arrest follows a recommendation made in September by the Special Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry, which called for action against individuals, including Lamichhane, for their involvement in the misappropriation of funds from various cooperatives. The commission found Lamichhane “responsible” for this fraud which affected ordinary depositors.

Lamichhane previously claimed he was “exonerated” due to the committee’s failure to directly link him to the misappropriation of cooperative funds. However, the arrest of Chhabilal Joshi, a former senior Nepal Police officer and associate of Lamichhane, had fueled speculation about Lamichhane’s imminent arrest.

Gorkha Media Network partner Joshi was taken into custody in September, while others involved in the case, including Gitendrababu (GB) Rai, remain at large. Another partner, Kumar Ramtel, is currently serving a prison sentence. The government had submitted a report to the Home Ministry recommending legal action against those involved in the cooperative scam, prompting Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak to order police intervention.

The Special Committee’s investigation concluded that Lamichhane had violated the law by acquiring a stake in Gorkha Media Network Pvt. Ltd., which was financed by cooperative savings, implicating it in a larger scandal involving 40 cooperatives across Nepal. Some people linked to this case are said to be on the fugitive lists of various security agencies.