KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 23

The Parliament Secretariat has issued a notice suspending Rabi Lamichhane, the elected legislator for Chitwan-2 and President of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP).

Padma Prasad Pandey, general secretary of the House of Representatives (HoR) Secretariat, published the notice, citing legal provisions, which state that Lamichhane will be suspended until the case is resolved, as a money laundering case has been filed against him in the Kaski District Court.

Kaski Police had written to the HoR Secretariat, requesting that Lamichhane's position of Member of Parliament (MP) be suspended. Section 27 of the Money Laundering Act 2008 states that once a case is registered, the post is automatically suspended.

The statement has cited Article 27 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act (2008), which provides the automatic suspension, stipulating, 'Any official or staff of any bank, financial institution, non financial institution or civil servant shall be deemed to be automatically suspended for a period he/she is detained as per this Act or until the case filed against him/her pursuant to Section 22 is settled.'

However, lawmakers, including the RSP's chief whip, met with Speaker Devraj Ghimire and requested that Speaker Lamichhane not be suspended from his position as an MP. On Monday, Chief Whip Santosh Pariyar, MPs Sobita Gautam, and Ganesh Parajuli met with the Speaker.

The RSP lawmakers had argued with the Speaker that the HoR rules should be applied to Lamichhane's case, arguing that he should not be suspended. The HoR rules allow for suspension only if it is decided to send him to detention after a closed-door debate.

According to the HoR Rules 2022, information about parliamentary meetings must be provided to the House immediately during the session and posted and made public during the non-session period.

Section 248 (3) of the HoR states, 'If a member is detained for trial in a criminal case punishable by imprisonment for three years or more or for moral turpitude under the prevailing law and is in custody for trial, or if he is required to remain in custody for trial pursuant to a court order, but fails to remain in custody and absconds, s/he shall not be entitled to perform any act or enjoy any right or immunity as a member and shall remain suspended.'

But this is not the first time Lamichhane's Member of Parliament seat has been threatened. He was previously removed and reelected through byelection.

Previously, on January 27, 2023, the Supreme Court removed him from all public offices (deputy prime minister and home minister; party chairperson and parliamentary party leader) as well as his position as a MP for failing to follow due process and obtain new Nepali citizenship after renouncing his American citizenship.

A five-member constitutional bench of the Supreme Court ruled that the 48-year-old contested the November elections on an invalid citizenship certificate after abandoning his US citizenship.

Rabi Lamichhane, who previously won Chitwan-2, again secured victory from the same constituency with more than 40,000 votes.

Rabi Lamichhane, who is accused of cooperative fraud, testified before the District Court in Kaski today. On Sunday, the District Attorney's Office in Kaski filed a case against Lamichhane and 31 others on charges of cooperative fraud. Lamichhane has also been charged with organised crime, money laundering, and cooperative fraud.

Suraj Adhikari, District Court Kaski's Information Officer, stated that the statements of Lamichhane, Chhabilal Joshi, and five other defendants presented to the court were recorded today.

According to the Attorney Office, 63 people have been charged with embezzling funds from the Suryadarshan cooperative in Pokhara.

Shanti Devi Sharma, Assistant District Attorney for the Kaski Office, confirmed that 19 people, including Lamichhane, have been charged with organised crime. Similarly, Lamichhane, Ram Bahadur Khanal, Chhabilal Joshi, and Leela Pachai are facing money laundering charges.

Lamichhane has been charged with money laundering and faces a claim of Rs 278.94 million. A case has been filed against Chhabilal Joshi for money laundering.

Lamichhane was arrested in Kathmandu on October 18 on charges of misappropriating cooperative funds. He is also under investigation in Kaski and other districts, for which he was transported to Rupandehi, Kathmandu, Chitwan and Parsa for interrogation. The kingpin of Suryadarshan cooperative fraud, GB Rai and other accused are still absconding.