Police on Friday evening arrested Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chair and former deputy prime minister and home minister Rabi Lamichhane on the charges of cooperatives fraud and organised crime.

If the investigating officers don’t add to the list of crimes, they need to complete the entire investigation within 60 days and then submit a report to the Kaski District Attorney’s Office. The attorney’s office will then lodge the case in the Kaski District Court. However, if the police probe him for money laundering, too, they will have an additional 30 days to wrap up the investigation.

Based on complaints from depositors at the Pokhara-based Suryadarshan Saving and Credit Cooperative, the police apprehended the journalist-turned-politician to probe his involvement in the embezzlement of millions of rupees of public money. The district court will decide whether he is guilty of the allegations.

If found guilty on both counts, he can face a jail term of over a decade. But if convicted of money laundering, he will not be able to return to parliamentary politics, as per existing legal provisions. However, he can challenge the district court’s decision in a higher court. The Supreme Court’s ruling will be final.

The Cooperatives Act defines cooperatives fraud and prescribes jail terms and penalties. Clause 50 of the Act prohibits lending—or investing—cooperatives’ deposits to those who are not members. Various studies, including by the Parliamentary Special Committee, have found that money from Suryadarshan Cooperative was channelled to the Gorkha Media Network, where Lamichhane was once the managing director.

If his involvement is established in transferring the money, he can face a year in jail and Rs100,000 in fine, as per Clause 124 (a) of the Act. Similarly, the RSP supremo may be prosecuted for causing harm to the cooperative, which is a criminal offence, according to Clause 122 (k) of the Act.

If found guilty, Lamichhane faces 8 to 10 years of prison, along with a fine equal to the amount the cooperative suffered in losses. In addition, property equal to the amount can be confiscated from him.

Being convicted of cooperatives’ fraud will pause his parliamentary politics for six years. The Act Relating to the Election of the Member of House of Representatives says a person convicted of a crime with less than 20 years of jail term is ineligible to contest election for six years after the completion of the imprisonment. The same provision applies to other elections as well.

“Lamichhane will not be eligible to contest at least one election if he gets convicted in cooperatives’ fraud,” said Mohan Lal Acharya, a constitutional lawyer.

The penalty for organised crime is still higher. The Prevention of the Organised Crime Act 2013 says that if any crime is found to be conducted in an organised manner, imprisonment can increase by 50 percent. In that case, Lamichhane can face a maximum jail term of 12 to 15 years. Just as with cooperatives’ fraud, in this case too he would have to wait for six years after completing the sentence to make a comeback in parliamentary politics.

Lamichhane, however, can never come back to politics if he gets convicted of money laundering. Along with money laundering, those convicted of corruption, rape, human trafficking, passport misuse and abduction are not allowed to contest elections.

However, those who have already been elected as members of Parliament will not lose their positions. They only remain suspended. As per the House of Representatives regulations, no lawmaker is suspended until s/he faces judicial custody or is convicted. So, Lamichhane will remain a member of the lower house until he is sent to judicial custody.

He will not lose the position even if he is convicted of the crimes he is charged with. “Any lawmaker convicted in any criminal offence will remain suspended during the period of his/her jail term,” reads section 248 (4) of the regulation. Even as such lawmakers do not lose their position, they don’t get any pay and perks during their suspension period.