Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane has moved the Patan High Court against a 6-million-rupee bail order issued by the Kathmandu District Court in the Swarnalakshmi Cooperative fraud case.
He, along with 39 others, faces serious allegations of embezzling 2.41 billion rupees, purportedly through the illegal transfer of cooperative funds to Gorkha Media Network Pvt. Ltd., where he served as managing director.
Lamichhane's petition seeks to reverse the bail requirement, requesting the High Court to allow him to proceed with the case under a general date. This move signifies his intent to challenge the District Court's assessment of his involvement in the alleged fraud.
The Kathmandu District Court, in its order, stated that it could not immediately deem Lamichhane innocent, leading to the imposition of the bail. This determination is now being contested by Lamichhane through his appeal to the High Court.
Besides the Swarnalakshmi case, Lamichhane is also embroiled in other cooperative fraud allegations. He has already filed petitions in the Pokhara and Butwal High courts against orders issued by the Kaski and Rupandehi District courts, stemming from separate cases related to the GB group’s cooperative fraud activities. In these cases, he paid a bail of Rs 6.5 million in Kaski and 10 million rupees bail in Rupandehi.
Furthermore, Lamichhane is preparing to challenge the order issued by the Chitwan District Court in the Sahara Chitwan Cooperative case, where he was required to post a bail of 5.4 million rupees.
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