A case has been filed against Poudel for allegedly being involved in money laundering, demanding the confiscation of Rs 209 million and Rs 634,000 in his bank account. Six other individuals and 10 companies have also been sued.
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A money laundering case has been filed in a special court against former Finance Minister and UML Vice-Chairman Bishnu Poudel on Thursday. The case has been filed against him on charges of being an accomplice in the crime of money laundering by creating an environment for controversial businessman Deepak Bhatt and others to hide and defraud illegal assets.
The charge sheet filed by the Money Laundering Investigation Department in the court has demanded Rs 209 million in damages against Poudel. The department has also demanded the confiscation of Rs 634,000 in his bank account. The department filed a supplementary charge sheet on Thursday after further investigating the case filed earlier against Bhatt, in which 16 people, including Poudel, and 6 people and 10 companies have been made defendants.
It is claimed that Poudel, while he was Finance Minister, misused his position and influence to facilitate the transfer of 20 percent shares (375,000 shares) of Shriram Tobacco Industries to Bhatt's company at a rate of Rs 100 per share. The book value of the share was Rs 816.71 per share. The charge sheet also states that Poudel facilitated the investigation being conducted by the Revenue Investigation Department against Shriram Tobacco, assisted in determining the quota for betel nut imports, and played a role in obtaining a license for Himalayan Reinsurance. The department has also demanded additional punishment for Poudel since he is a former finance minister.
The department had kept Poudel in custody and investigated him for more than three weeks. He was arrested on Ashad 28 when he reached Surkhet for party work. After bringing him to Kathmandu, the department had initiated an investigation on charges of financial irregularities in collusion with businessman Bhatta, who was in custody for the crime of money laundering.
The department had filed a money laundering case against Bhatta and 39 others on 28 Jestha. On that day, a case was filed in three courts against the Shankar Group, Infinity Holdings, and the directors of Himalayan Reinsurance on charges of financial fraud. Cases were filed against 81 people in the Kathmandu District Court for securities offences and 42 for insurance offences. Cases were filed against 39 people in the Special Court for money laundering and four people in the Patan High Court for banking offences.
At that time, cases were filed against Shankar Group Chairman Shankarlal Agrawal and Vice-Chairmen Sulabh and Sahil Agrawal and Infinity Holdings Chairman Deepak Bhatt for all four offences. The District Attorney's Office has claimed a loss of Rs 3.73 billion 85 lakh 24 thousand 227 for offences under the Insurance Act and Rs 1.14 billion 86 lakh 9 thousand 900 for offences under the Securities Act.
The department has filed a supplementary case against former Minister Poudal, Bhatt, Sulabh Agrawal, Rishiraj Mor, Shubhi Agrawal and Upesh Basnet in the court. They have been accused of embezzling funds from insurance companies and laundering undisclosed wealth.
Bhatta has been found guilty of committing additional offenses while the case of 28 Jestha is pending, so an additional demand of Rs 477 million has been made. Out of his 177 ropani land, 156 ropanis have been demanded to be confiscated. An additional demand has been made to confiscate shares worth Rs 14 million of Himalayan Securities Banker. In the previous case, a claim of Rs 26.63 billion was claimed against him.
It has been claimed that Bhatta has misused the funds of insurance companies including Himalayan Re-Insurance and made unnatural profits by purchasing shares in his own name. The charge sheet states that he has embezzled more than Rs 3.76 billion from various insurance companies and subsidiaries and transferred them to his personal account. An earlier charge sheet was filed against Sulabh Agarwal, fixing a fine of Rs 25.59 billion. In the supplementary charge, a demand has been made to confiscate his house and property. A demand has also been made for the seizure of houses and properties located in various places in Kathmandu Metropolitan City and shares of Riddhisiddhi Cement worth Rs 1.7 billion.
In the case of Shubhi Agarwal, an additional amount of Rs 133.3 million has been fixed and punishment has been demanded for money laundering. A case was earlier filed against Mor demanding Rs 3.78 billion. The department has also mentioned that Rs 39.3 million in his bank account will also be confiscated. The department has filed a case against Basnet by fixing the amount of Rs 133.3 million.
In the supplementary charge sheet, Infinity Holdings, Himalayan Asset Management, Fewa Developers, Begnas Developers, Regent Court, Alpha Developers, Srinagar Developers, Delta Developers, Lekhnath Developers and Kantipuri Developers have been made defendants for the purpose of property seizure.
