The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police has started an investigation into the decision of Nepal Trust to lease land at Durbarmarg to Thamserku Trekking Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of Yeti Holdings, for 30 years. Lekh Bahadur Karki, the then joint secretary of the trust who signed the lease agreement, has been arrested, and the police plan to take the investigation to the next level.

The board of directors of the trust had first approved the plan to lease one ropani and 14 aanas of land at Durbarmarg on 28 Shrawan 2071. About 2 years later, a public notice was issued to lease the land and bids were invited.

At that time, 6 companies participated in the competition. ‘However, it seems that the criteria of that bid were also prepared in a way that was suitable only for Thamserku,’ says a CIB investigation officer. ‘Later, Thamserku’s proposal was approved as per the plan.’ 

Although it was decided to lease the land at Durbarmarg to Thamserku through a joint-secretary-level decision, investigators claim that a cheap deal was made with the connivance of the trustee and chairman of the trust. The trustee of the trust had a provision that the Prime Minister would be the trustee and the Home Minister the chairman. When the bid notice was issued on 14 Ashad 2073, UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli was the Prime Minister and the then Maoist leader Shakti Bahadur Basnet was the Home Minister. Similarly, when Thamserku's proposal was approved on 5 Baisakh 2074 and the agreement was reached on 14 Jestha of the same year, then Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal was the Prime Minister and Congress leader Bimalendra Nidhi was the Home Minister.

'It seems that there may be high-level involvement in the issue of leasing the land of Durbar Marg cheaply,' says an officer involved in the investigation. 'Since the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers is a subordinate body, it was not possible without the knowledge of the higher levels.' 

A complaint had already been filed with the Nepal Police and the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority in the Durbar Marg land lease case. The police had not taken action on the complaint, while the Authority itself had decided to keep the complaint pending in 2076 BS. The Auditor General's Office had asked for an investigation. 

According to the officers, Thamserku had initially submitted a proposal of Rs 6.26 billion to lease one ropani and 14 annas of land in front of the Narayanhiti Durbar. However, on 24 Falgun 2073, another letter was written stating that the amount was not so large. ‘It seems that the proposal was made after knowing the number of the proposal made by other competitors, and again it seems that the proposal was made by mentioning a very low amount,’ said an official. ‘It has been found that the proposal was accepted silently to the detriment of the government.’ At that time, the second successful candidate in the technical proposal, Sakh Steel Industries Pvt. Ltd., had proposed Rs 622.458 crore and Adrisiya-Lyons JV had proposed Rs 262.28 crore. 

Initially, the then Secretary Arjun Karki had given a deadline to Joint Secretary Karki to proceed with the letter saying that ‘the amount as proposed could not be given’, according to officials. Later, Joint Secretary Karki had decided to agree to a deal of Rs 1.4 billion as per their proposal on 5 Baisakh 2074. When this proposal was accepted, Prime Minister Dahal was the patron of the trust and Home Minister was the fund chairman.

According to CIB Chief AIG Manoj KC, ample evidence of collusion has been found. ‘It has been found that there was tampering in the agreement, and after finding grounds for investigation, we have taken one person into custody and started the investigation,’ he told Kantipur. ‘We will extend the term for fraud and criminal breach of trust and proceed with a detailed investigation.’ 

According to CIB spokesperson Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shiva Kumar Shrestha, it has been seen that people in various positions have cheated by taking illegal benefits in the trust land case. ‘It has been seen that people in various positions, government employees and other people, associates and cronies have benefited by causing great harm to the state through Nepal Trust. The then joint secretary was arrested during the investigation,’ he says. 

The land owned by the then King Birendra and his family members came under the name of the Government of Nepal after the establishment of the republic. The Nepal Trust was established on 6 Mangsir 2064 to manage and operate it and use it in the national interest. The Nepal Trust Act, 2064, provides that the trust can acquire, enjoy, sell or otherwise manage movable and immovable property. 

Most of the property in the name of Nepal Trust has been leased to Yeti Holdings and its related companies. Among them, the then Prime Minister Oli and Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ishwor Pokharel were involved in a dispute when Yeti Holdings decided to extend the time to use the land of Gokarna Forest Resort. At that time, the Defense Minister was appointed as the chairman of the trust. 

The then royal court had signed a 30-year lease agreement with LM Subhir Brothers on 21 Shrawan 2052 for the construction and operation of the resort. At that time, it had agreed to pay 5 million US dollars. On 25 Mangsir 2071, when Sushil Koirala was the Prime Minister and Bamdev Gautam was the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, the trust's board of directors had approved the transfer of the shares in LM Subhir Brothers to Yeti Holdings.