More evidence has emerged of Rabi Lamichhane, the chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, misappropriating the deposits of a cooperative to buy shares in a media company.

Unlike what he claims, Lamichhane, the then managing director of Gorkha Media Network which operated Galaxy Television, had received neither ‘sweat shares’ of the media company nor did he quit the company in June, 2022 without taking any money.

Records available at the Office of the Company Registrar and banking transaction details reveal that a total of Rs18 million was transferred to Lamichhane’s bank account when he left the Gorkha Media Network.

Kantipur, the Post’s sister publication, received documents regarding the financial details of Gorkha Media Network from several cooperatives and also from the Office of the Company Registrar. The documents show Lamichhane, unlike his claims, had not received ‘sweat shares’ but purchased them by misusing people’s savings in various cooperatives. And the amounts received by selling shares were transferred to his bank account when he quit the network.

Lamichhane has been claiming that he got shares of Gorkha Media Network in return for his work there. “I got some shares in return for my work at the television. I will leave the television today by returning the same shares with due respect,” Lamichhane said while announcing his exit from the television on his TV programme. On social media, public forums and mass media, he repeatedly spoke of having received ‘sweat shares’. Lamichhane had announced his involvement in Galaxy Television in March 2021. But the financial transaction to purchase shares had started over a month before that.

According to the documents submitted at the Office of the Company Registrar by Gorkha Media Network, Lamichhane had deposited Rs7.5 million in the account of Gorkha Media Network on January 22, 2021. Similarly, Rs10 million was withdrawn from the Butwal-based Supreme Saving and Credit Cooperatives on April 18, 2021 and the amount was deposited in the account of Gorkha Media Network. The transaction is seen not only in Supreme’s report, but also in the Global IME Bank’s statement of the Network’s account No 0401010000577.

Lamichhane and Roshani Gurung, an employee of Supreme Saving and Credit Cooperative, have been recorded as the depositors. “I am an ordinary employee. The operators of the cooperative instructed me to deposit the amounts in the name of Rabi Lamichhane,” Gurung told Kantipur. “My name appeared as the bank asked me to include my name as well. That money was the savings of depositors at the cooperative… I had simply followed the instructions.”

Lamichhane has been claiming that he was unaware about who withdrew money from the cooperative and deposited it in Gorkha Media Network’s account. But Lamichhane himself submitted financial details of Rs7.5 million that he deposited and Rs10 million deposited in the name of Supreme Saving and Credit Cooperative to the Office of Company Registrar. The office verified the details and approved the transfer of 15 percent shares of Gorkha Media Network in Lamichhane’s name. Legally, Lamichhane became a shareholder of the network 10 days after the money from Supreme Saving and Credit Cooperatives was deposited in Gorkha Media Network’s bank account.

In the Gorkha Media Network, Gitendra Babu Rai owned 600,000 shares (50 percent) by depositing money from various sources and cooperatives, former Deputy Inspector General of Police Chhabilal Joshi owned 420,000 shares (35 percent) and Lamichhane owned 180,000 shares (15 percent). Rai was chairman while Joshi and Lamichhane were vice-chairman and managing director, respectively, of the network at that time.

Following a misunderstanding, Joshi left the company by selling his 35 percent stake to Rai on December 22, 2022. On June 16, 2022, Lamichhane also left Gorkha Media Network.

Despite claiming ownership of ‘sweat shares’ the documents at the Office of the Company Registrar show that Lamichhane had sold his shares to Rai in cash. A total of Rs18 million was transferred from Rai’s account in Prime Commercial Bank to Lamichhane’s account in Global IME Bank. In this way, cash was transferred to Lamichhane’s account after selling the shares that he had bought by using depositors’ savings at the Supreme Saving and Credit Cooperatives.

After Lamichhane’s exit, Rai sold the 15 percent share of Gorkha Media Network to his own company named GB Group of Companies and 17 percent to one Kumar Ramtel. Ramtel, who was allegedly involved in embezzling money as a treasurer of Butwal-based Supreme Saving and Credit Cooperatives, is now in police custody for misappropriating the deposits of Suryadarshan Cooperatives of Pokhara.

Lamichhane, however, has been reiterating that he owned sweat shares or goodwill shares of Gorkha Media and had not engaged in any financial transactions for the same. “Sweat shares are goodwill shares which are decided on the basis of an understanding between two parties. Goodwill shares are issued to ones who do not have money but have social capital. I engaged in no financial transaction for the shares. I don’t know how they [other shareholders] managed it,” Lamichhane told Kantipur on Sunday evening.

Lamichhane categorically denied receiving Rs18 million while leaving the television or misusing any money of cooperatives while purchasing the shares. “No, I did not receive such a huge amount of money. The company might have done something while selling and buying 15 percent shares. I have a bank account in Global IME Bank. You can check my bank account,” said Lamichhane. But Rs18 million had indeed been deposited in his Global IME Bank account 0013284037 on June 16, 2022.

Moreover, Gorkha Media Network with Rai as chairman and Lamichhane as managing director were found to have misused the savings of around 35,000 depositors of several cooperatives totalling around Rs525 million in the name of Galaxy Television. Around Rs300 million deposited by 19,000 people in Pokhara-based Surya Darshan Cooperatives, Rs117 million of Sahara Chitwan Cooperatives and Rs107.4 million of Supreme Cooperative in Butwal were used by Gorkha Media Network on different dates.

Swarnalaxmi Cooperatives of Kathmandu, Sano Paila Cooperatives of Birgunj and Samanata Cooperatives of Nepalgunj shuttered after this group misappropriated the deposits.

A study report by Pokhara Metropolitan City says Suryadarshan Cooperatives had conducted a transaction of Rs10 million by opening an illegitimate bridge account in Lamichhane’s name. Lamichhane is not a member of any of the cooperatives involved. Issuing a loan to a person who is not a cooperative member is against the country’s existing legal provisions. But Rai had arranged for Lamichhane to get cooperatives’ money.

Thousands of people who saved money in various cooperatives have been affected after the cooperatives misused their hard-earned savings. The depositors have been frequenting various authorities demanding to get their money back.

While Lamichhane continues to refute news reports that he had received money from Gitendra Babu Rai, Kantipur Publications has obtained a written document signed and thumbprinted by Lamichhane in which he has admitted to have received Rs18 million from Rai.

The then managing director of the company, Lamichhane, had received the money while exiting the company, documents show. In June 2022, he quit Galaxy Television operated by the same company to join national politics.

A news report by Kantipur daily, sister publication of The Kathmandu Post, on Sunday also published copies of a bank voucher that shows an amount of Rs18 million deposited in his bank account.

However, Lamichhane, holding a press meet on Monday, refuted the report saying that he hadn't received the money as the cheque bounced due to insufficient funds in Rai's account.