Kathmandu, Oct 13: The Kathmandu District Court has ordered former deputy prime minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and other defendants in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam to repay about Rs 150 million to victims, according to its newly released full verdict.
The scheme collected money from Nepali citizens by promising to send them to the United States as Bhutanese refugees. Judge Tej Bahadur Khadka convicted Rayamajhi, former home minister Bal Krishna Khand, former home secretary Tek Narayan Pandey and others on July 14.
The verdict identifies repayment obligations for more than 59 victims. Sandesh Sharma must return Rs 74.7 million collected from 38 people, the largest individual liability. Sanu Bhandari must repay Rs 26 million and Keshav Prasad Dulal Rs 15.8 million.
Rayamajhi must return Rs 4 million. This forms part of Rs 36.6 million owed to complainant Prem Raj Panthi, who testified that he collected Rs 57.8 million from about 50 acquaintances and handed it to the group. He had recovered Rs 21.2 million.
Of the outstanding amount, former home minister Ram Bahadur Thapa’s security adviser Indrajit Rai must repay Rs 15 million. Dulal and Bhandari must cover the remaining Rs 17.6 million.
Sagar Rai must return Rs 12.9 million, former Constituent Assembly member Ang Tawa Sherpa Rs 2.7 million to six victims, and Govinda Kumar Chaudhary Rs 2.5 million. Convicts must also pay compensation fees into the Victim Relief Fund.
Khand, Pandey and Bhutanese refugee leader Tek Nath Rijal face no repayment obligation. Khand received two years in prison and a Rs 20,000 fine for abetting fraud, offenses against the state and organized crime. Pandey received four years and a Rs 40,000 fine. Rijal received two years and a Rs 20,000 fine for abetting forgery and the other offenses.
Seven defendants were acquitted, including Ram Sharan Kesi, whom the court found had himself been defrauded by Dulal and Bhandari. Proceedings against eight fugitives remain suspended until their arrest.
The court found that the group forged a government task force report, adding 581 families to falsely establish refugee eligibility. Messages between Pandey and Dulal were key evidence of official support for the scheme. Khand approved proposals extending the committee’s term and changing its mandate.
The court ruled that the scheme damaged Nepal’s international standing and constituted an offense against the state. Prosecutors filed charges against 30 people in May 2023. Police complaints identified 112 people as victims of the scam.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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