A case has been filed at the Special Court against 28 individuals, including former speaker and Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara, and one company in connection with the gold smuggling case involving electronic cigarettes (vapes).
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Tangal, submitted the case to the Special Court on Thursday.
Krishna Sharan Lamichhane, spokesperson for the Special Court, confirmed that the case has been received and is currently being verified.
"A case has been brought against 28 individuals and one company. It is currently in the verification process," he said.
Previously, a case was registered against Mahara at the Kathmandu District Court on October 13. The district court initially sent him to judicial custody for trial. However, on November 27, the Patan High Court ordered his release on a bail of Rs 2 million.
On December 25, 2022, Chinese national Li Hanson arrived in Kathmandu via Fly Dubai with a large quantity of vapes in his luggage. Nine kilograms of gold was concealed inside those vapes. The gold smuggling was discovered after the gold was stolen from the airport customs office itself.
During the investigation initiated by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), Mahara was found to have links with the smuggling mastermind, Daojin Wang.
Although the CIB included this connection in its initial investigation chart, no charges were filed at that time.
Later, a high-level probe commission on gold smuggling recommended prosecuting Mahara as well.
The CIB had arrested Mahara in Kapilvastu on March 18, 2024, but no case was filed against him at the time. He was released on personal recognizance after his statement was recorded.
