Banking News – The Kathmandu District Court has convicted 23 individuals, including former Deputy Prime Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand, and former Home Secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, in connection with Nepal’s high-profile fake Bhutanese refugee scam.

The verdict was delivered on Tuesday by a bench led by Judge Tej Bahadur Khadka, which found the defendants guilty of various offenses and ordered that sentencing proceedings be conducted in the next phase of the case.

The case originated on May 24, 2023 (Jestha 10, 2080), when the Office of the Government Attorney filed charges against 30 defendants on allegations including fraud, forgery of official documents, crimes against the state, and organized crime.

Of the 30 accused, the court convicted 23 and acquitted seven. Those acquitted are Ram Sharan K.C., Tank Kumar Gurung, Sanjiv Rayamajhi, Pratik Thapa, Laxmi Maharjan, Keshav Tuladhar, and Ashish Budhathoki.

According to the court’s ruling, former Deputy Prime Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi was found guilty of crimes against the state, fraud, and organized crime. Former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand was convicted as an accomplice in those offenses, while former Home Secretary Tek Narayan Pandey was found guilty of fraud, organized crime, and crimes against the state.

Bhutanese refugee leader Tek Nath Rizal was convicted as an accomplice in charges related to forgery of official documents, fraud, organized crime, and crimes against the state. The court also found alleged key masterminds Sanu Bhandari and Keshav Dulal guilty of forgery, fraud, organized crime, and crimes against the state.

The case centers on allegations that the accused fraudulently collected millions of rupees from members of the public by falsely promising to send them to third countries as Bhutanese refugees.

The court has scheduled July 13 (Asar 29) to determine the sentences for the convicted individuals, including Khand, Rayamajhi, and Pandey.