The Kathmandu District Court has sentenced 15 individuals, including former deputy prime minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, former home minister Bal Krishna Khand, and Bhutanese refugee leader Tek Nath Rizal in the fake Bhutanese refugee case.
The court handed down separate sentences to all those found guilty, including principal offenders and accomplices, for various offenses.
Although the court stipulated separate prison terms and fines for each offense, the convicts are only required to serve the duration of the longest prison sentence, while fines for every individual charge must be paid in full.
According to the sentencing order issued by Judge Tej Bahadur Khadka, former deputy prime minister Rayamajhi, former home secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, Indra Kumar Rai, and Ang Tawa Sherpa were each sentenced to four years in prison.
They received 2 years' imprisonment and a Rs 20,000 fine for fraud, 3 years' imprisonment and a Rs 30,000 fine for organized crime, 18 months' imprisonment and a Rs 15,000 fine for offenses against the state, and 4 years' imprisonment and a Rs 40,000 fine for integrated offenses.
Although they will serve only the maximum four-year prison term, they must pay the cumulative fines for all offenses.
Former home minister Khand, who was convicted as an accomplice in the scam, received half that prison term and was sentenced to two years in prison.
Defendants Govinda Kumar Chaudhary (also known as Bikram), Sandesh Sharma, and Sagar Rai were also sentenced to four years in prison, with the same breakdown of prison terms and fines as the principal offenders.
Bhutanese refugee leader Rizal was sentenced to two years in prison. His sentence includes 1 year in prison and a Rs 10,000 fine for document forgery, 1 year in prison and a Rs 10,000 fine for fraud, 18 months in prison and a Rs 15,000 fine for organized crime, 6 months in prison and a Rs 5,000 fine for offenses against the state, and 2 years in prison and a Rs 20,000 fine for integrated offenses.
The court also sentenced alleged masterminds Sanu Bhandari and Keshav Dulal to four years in prison each. They received 2 years' imprisonment and a Rs 20,000 fine for document forgery, 2 years' imprisonment and a Rs 20,000 fine for fraud, 18 months' imprisonment and a Rs 15,000 fine for offenses against the state, and 4 years' imprisonment and a Rs 40,000 fine for integrated offenses.
According to the ruling, Narendra KC, Shumsher Miya, Hari Bhakta Maharjan, and Niranjan Kumar Kharel will each have to serve one year in prison for integrated offenses.
They also received 6 months' imprisonment and a Rs 5,000 fine for fraud, 9 months' imprisonment and a Rs 7,500 fine for organized crime, 6 months' imprisonment and a Rs 5,000 fine for offenses against the state, and 1 year's imprisonment and a Rs 10,000 fine for integrated offenses.
The case was filed by government prosecutors on May 24, 2023, charging 30 individuals – including former deputy prime minister Rayamajhi, former home minister Khand, and former home secretary Pandey – with fraud, document forgery, offenses against the state, and organized crime.
Those acquitted include Ram Sharan KC, Tanka Kumar Gurung, Sandeep Rayamajhi, Prateek Thapa, Laxmi Maharjan, Keshav Tuladhar, and Ashish Budhathoki.
