KATHMANDU
A lower court in Nepal has convicted the country’s former Deputy Prime Minister, Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, and former Home Minister, Bal Krishna Khand. Alongside them, 14 other individuals were found guilty in a massive fake Bhutanese refugee scam that shook the nation’s political establishment three years ago.
The Kathmandu District Court ruled that the group actively conspired to smuggle ordinary Nepali citizens into the United States by falsely passing them off as displaced Bhutanese refugees.
Although the official international resettlement program for genuine Bhutanese refugees completely concluded back in 2016, the criminal network successfully deceived hundreds of hopeful citizens. They collected enormous sums of money from their victims by promising them access to non-existent refugee quotas for a new life in America.
Kathmandu District Court Judge Tej Bahadur Khadka found the defendants guilty of multiple serious offenses, including forgery, fraud, organized crime, and crimes against the state. The long list of convicted individuals features senior political figures, middlemen, and high-ranking bureaucrats, such as former Home Secretary Tek Narayan Pandey.
The court’s detailed order labeled the scheme as a major offense against the state. The judge noted that the high-profile individuals responsible had severely undermined the dignity of Nepali citizens while deeply damaging Nepal’s international reputation. The court emphasized that the operation was clearly an organized crime because it required a highly coordinated, multi-layered network of politicians, government employees, and middlemen to execute the fraud.
To pull off the scheme, the criminals forged internal government files and printed counterfeit identity cards. Out of the 30 individuals originally charged by prosecutors, the court cleared seven due to a lack of evidence. The cases against the remaining absconding suspects have been put on hold until their arrest. The court has scheduled a follow-up hearing for July 13 to officially announce the individual prison terms and financial penalties for those convicted.
