May 22, Kathmandu - The Kaski District Court has granted permission to the government to dismiss charges of organized crime and money laundering filed against Rabi Lamichhane and others in connection with embezzlement at the Suryadarshan Saving and Credit Cooperative Society. The bench of Justice Himlal Belbase amended the indictment, focusing solely on the charge of cooperative fraud and dropping the other allegations.

The case was registered following a complaint filed by Govinda Adhikari, with the Nepal government as the plaintiff. The defendants include Gitenendra Babu (GB) Rai, Chhabilal Joshi, and Rabi Lamichhane, among others. The Kaski District Attorney's Office had requested the court to revise the existing indictment to exclude the charges of organized crime and money laundering, arguing that the case should proceed only on the primary charge of cooperative fraud.

The court emphasized that the primary objective of the case is to ensure the swift and straightforward return of the savings of victims. The order states, “The main issue in this case is to facilitate the easy and prompt return of the savings of the victims, which is also the demand made by the complainants.”

Since allegations of organized crime and money laundering remain, the court noted that a settlement between the defendants and victims or the recovery of the funds would become more complex and time-consuming under legal procedures. Therefore, permission was granted to amend the indictment accordingly.

The court’s order also clarifies that the previous decision, which applied only to Rabi Lamichhane, now applies to all other defendants as well, correcting an earlier oversight.