A case has been filed in a special court against Mohan Bahadur Basnet, the mayor of Nagarjuna municipality in Kathmandu, for the crime of corruption and money laundering.

The Abuse of Authority Investigation Commission has filed a case against Basnet in a special court on Sunday for taking bribe money from real estate businessman Rajuprasad Kandel and laundering it. Basnet won the Mayor from Congress in both the local level elections in 2074 and the last time in 2079. Kandel is the director of Padma Colony Pvt Ltd and Padma Merchant Company Pvt Ltd. 

It was revealed from the investigation that Mayor Basnet took bribe from Kandel during the real estate transaction. According to the indictment filed in the special court, it has also been revealed that Basnet has purified the bribe taken from Kandel and invested it elsewhere. In this case, a charge sheet has also been filed against him with the addition of a case of money laundering.

Mayor Basnet's wife Urmila Basnet should also be punished as demanded against Mayor Basnet in the indictment filed by the authority in the special court on charges of laundering bribes. The authority has also demanded imprisonment and fine to the businessman Kandel who gave the bribe.

According to Narahari Ghimire, the spokesperson of the authority, in the case of bribery against Mayor Basnet, a sum of 92 million rupees 46 thousand 32 rupees has been collected and a punishment of 8 to 10 years imprisonment and a fine has been demanded. 

The authority has also taken a demand to confiscate the amount equal to the bribe and to confiscate the fine and the amount of the bribe. The authority has also demanded punishment against the mayor's wife Urmila, just as it demanded against Basnet. In the same way, punishment has been demanded against Kandel who bribed Mayor Basnet.

Apart from this, a separate punishment has been demanded for mayor Basnet for the crime of laundering corruption while in a public position, Ghimire said. This is the second time that the authority has prosecuted a case for money laundering. Saroj Bhattarai, the then head of planning and engineer of Lumbini Development Fund, has also been found guilty by a special court for conducting a case related to money laundering last year. This is the second case of wealth laundering filed by the Authority against Mayor Basnet of Nagarjuna Municipality on Sunday. 

The authority has filed a case against Basnet on the charge of laundering the bribe taken from Kandel, demanding imprisonment and a fine of Rs. There has been a demand for confiscation of the property increased from the purified property and additional punishment for committing crimes while in office. In the case of imprisonment and fine, half of the punishment of the main offender has been demanded. A case has been filed against Kandel, the bribe-giving businessman, for abetting, helping and facilitating the laundering of wealth, and demanding imprisonment and fine.

'City chief Mohan Bahadur Basnet misused the position of city chief with the intention of taking bribe/receipt from director/chairman Rajuprasad Kandel of house/land businessman Padma Colony Pvt. Ltd./Padma Merchant Company Pvt. Ltd./Jagatguru Kripalu Foundation Nepal. Jagatguru Kripalu Foundation Nepal has been given tax exemptions under various titles from the municipality, foreign aid from individuals and organizations to the said foundation is 7 billion. 48 Crores, the correspondence from the chief administrative officer of the municipality of the said institution was signed by himself/herself and increased the reputation of the said institution and the said institution agreed to provide the land to the defendant Rajuprasad Kandel and his companies to build a temple within Nagarjun Municipality. To implement the same agreement, to make the land owners go to Bhulbhulaiya and make an agreement with the land owners for the construction of the temple. It is mentioned in the indictment that he was involved in plotting and selling. For this he took bribe from Padma Colony.

It has also been revealed that Padma Colony paid only 189.4 million 18 thousand 448 rupees for the land with a market value of 47.75 million rupees and the remaining amount was jointly managed by the mayor and businessman Kandel.

In the indictment of the authority, it is said, 'For this reason, Basnet misused the position of the city head to carry out the mentioned actions, through the bank account 2 crore 15 lakh 73 thousand 395 rupees and land worth 6 crore 82 lakh and 24 lakh 72 which was taken from the marriage feast. The defendants, Mohan Bahadur Basnet and Urmila, have received bribes worth Rs. It has been confirmed that Basnet took from Padma Colony Pvt. Ltd., Padma Merchant Company Pvt. Ltd. and the Director/Chairman Raju Prasad Kandel.'

According to the indictment of the authority, Mayor Basnet seems to have cleared the money taken as a bribe into his and his wife's account. It has also been revealed that Jagatguru Kripalu Pratishthan Nepal, which is going to purchase the land for the temple to be built, has sold the land to the local residents of the same municipality. For that reason, it has been revealed that Mayor Basnet took 372,000 rupees from various people in his bank account. Mayor Basnet took bribes from the accounts of Padma Merchant Pvt Ltd and Padma Colony for making the purchase of land favorable to the businessmen. He took the amount from his and his wife Urmila's account. Not only this, Mayor Basnet also appears to have become a partner with Kandel, the owner of Padma Colony, by doing business on various dates in 2078.

It has also been found that the land acquired by trading in partnership was sold to Saraswati Sharma, the wife of Kandel, the owner of Padma Colony, in the name of Mayor Basnet's wife Urmila. According to the indictment, 60 million 28 lakh 68 thousand 562 rupees have been deposited in the account of Mayor Basnet and his wife Urmila on behalf of Padma Colony, while the amount paid by Mayor Basnet for the purchase of land by Padma Colony is 372 million rupees. 

Similarly, Mayor Basnet and his wife Urmila got 1 crore 12 lakh 23 thousand 166 rupees when they sold the land. 2 crore 15 lakh 73 thousand 395 rupees taken as bribe from Kandel of Padma Colony were also deposited in the bank.