Earlier, only RSP President Rabi Lamichhane's case was withdrawn
KATHMANDU, JANUARY 16
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has decided to withdraw the organised crime and money laundering cases filed against all of the accused in the cooperative fraud case involving Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President and former home minister Rabi Lamichhane. Preparations are being made to withdraw the organised crime and money laundering cases filed against all of the accused following a controversy in which only Lamichhane's case was withdrawn.
According to sources, the decision has already been made to drop the same charges against all of the accused in the cooperative embezzlement case. Attorney General Sabita Bhandari had previously directed the District Attorney's Office to withdraw the charges only in the case of Rabi Lamichhane.
However, due to an error, the Office of the Attorney General has already instructed the District Attorney Office to implement this decision in all cases, an OAG source told THT.
Earlier, on Wednesday (January 14), the Attorney General decided to withdraw the case only against Rabi Lamichhane.
"In cases where Rabi Lamichhane is a defendant, we prioritise the rights and interests of the victim depositors. It has been decided to approve the amendment of the indictment in accordance with Section 36 of the National Criminal Procedure Code, 2017, so that the charges of organised crime and money laundering will be dropped in his case, as they were the cases filed in Kaski District Court, Kathmandu District Court, Rupandehi District Court and Parsa District Court," reads the decision.
Meanwhile, the decision by Bhandari has been removed from the website of the Office of the Attorney General. The source also confirmed that he could not find the decision on the web.
On Wednesday, Attorney General Bhandari decided to withdraw the decision on money laundering and organised crime charges against Lamichhane, and the website's notice included 'Comments and Orders' under the title 'Decision on Cooperative Fraud'. However, the decision could not be found today on the official website of the OAG. The sources, on the other hand, confirmed that a fresh decision had been taken to withdraw charges against all the accused.
Achyut Mani Neupane, OAG spokesperson, told THT, "I am unaware of the decision. I only found out about yesterday's decision through the website. I heard about what happened today in the media, but I'm not sure." Earlier today, Yubraj Paudel, also known as 'Yubraj Safal', had filed a writ in the Supreme Court seeking annulment of the decision by the OAG. Paudel has named the OAG, four district courts and Lamichhane as the defendant in the writ of certiorari.
On December 18, 2025, the Butwal Tulsipur Bench of the High Court ordered Lamichhane's release on bail in the Supreme Cooperative fraud case. A bench of Justices Basudev Acharya and Tej Narayan Paudel ordered Lamichhane's release on five conditions.
