Former home minister and chief of Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Rabi Lamichhane, who has been held in Kaski police custody for investigations, was brought to Kathmandu on Thursday evening for probe in a cooperative fraud case registered with the Kathmandu District Police.

Lamichhane is being investigated on charges of cooperatives fraud, organised crime, and money laundering. He was allegedly involved in a fraud case involving the Kalimati-based Swarnalakshmi Cooperative.

According to police officials, Lamichhane was transferred to Kathmandu after recording his statement on the charges of embezzling deposits borrowed from the Suryadarshan Cooperative in Pokhara.

The Kathmandu District Court issued an arrest warrant against Lamichhane on November 17 for his alleged role in misappropriating funds from the Swarnalakshmi Cooperative.

An arrest warrant was also issued against former DIG Chhabilal Joshi, one of the partners of Lamichhane in Gorkha Media Network, in connection with the Swarnalakshmi case. Joshi’s statement was recorded at the District Attorney’s Office in Kathmandu.

The Kaski Court on November 24 extended his remand by an additional 15 days for further investigation. Lamichhane had been in custody for over 40 days when the latest remand was granted. While investigations in Kaski focus on cooperatives fraud, organised crime, and money laundering, Lamichhane is also implicated in similar cases involving Butwal's Supreme Cooperative and was previously questioned by the Rupandehi District Attorney’s Office.

Following his statement in Kathmandu, Lamichhane will be returned to Kaski. Additionally, arrest warrants have been issued against Lamichhane and others in Chitwan.

Lamichhane was apprehended by a Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) team from the RSP’s central office in Banasthali, Kathmandu on October 18, and transported to Pokhara for investigation. Previous probes including the one conducted by a special parliamentary committee alleged that he, as the managing director of the the now-defunct Gorkha Media Network, was involved in diverting funds from multiple cooperatives, including Rs30 million, into personal accounts.