Police have planned to take the Rastriya Swatantra Party chairman and former home minister Rabi Lamichhane, currently held in Kaski police custody in connection with the investigation on cooperatives fraud, organised crime, and money laundering allegations, to Bhairahawa on Tuesday.

Kumar Ramtel and Shiv Bahadur Gurung, detained in Kaski for misappropriating funds from Surya Darshan Cooperative in Pokhara, have recorded their statements to the government prosecutors in Rupandehi since Friday. They are implicated in misappropriating funds from Supreme Savings and Credit Cooperative in Butwal and allegedly channelling money into Gorkha Media Network.

Lamichhane, who has been in Kaski custody since October 18, is being brought to Bhairahawa for further questioning as part of this investigation. Superintendent of Police Ranjit Singh Rathore confirmed that Lamichhane’s statement recording will begin shortly after his arrival on Tuesday morning and the authorities in the district have completed all the preparations with a plan for a swift start.

The Kaski District Court granted a 13-day extension for Lamichhane’s custody on Sunday for further investigations. Police intend to record his statement within three to four days and then return him to Kaski.

The Rupandehi District Court had previously approved the arrest of 12 individuals, including Lamichhane and GB Rai, on October 24, for alleged involvement in misappropriating Rs142.9 million from Supreme Cooperative and transferring it to Gorkha Media Network Pvt Ltd. Investigations indicate that Lamichhane borrowed Rs19.6 million in personal loans from the cooperative.

Further probes have found that Gorkha Media Network’s vice chairman, Chhabilal Joshi Banjade, took a loan of Rs24.5 million, which was deposited in Gorkha Media’s Global IME Bank account. Records show that Supreme Cooperative's manager, Sagar KC, verified the loan voucher issued in Lamichhane’s name, with Roshani Gurung allegedly transferring the funds to Gorkha Media's account. Roshani has been released on bail, while Cooperative chairman Om Prakash Gurung remains in custody.

Supreme Cooperative’s investigation has revealed that Rs780 million of members’ deposits was improperly diverted to various organisations. Over 32 individuals, including former chairman GB Rai, former secretary Dipesh Pun, and KC of the cooperatives are believed to be implicated in this irregular expenditure, with 25 still at large.

Police in January issued a Red Notice against GB Rai, who is on the run. Rai and Lamichhane jointly founded the media company that ran the now defunct Galaxy 4K Television. Lamichhane was managing director of the television channel before joining politics in July 2022.