Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) has concluded that 111 individuals were directly involved in the Karnali Development Bank scam. After an extensive investigation, the CIB submitted its report to the Government Attorney’s Office, which is now preparing to file a case at the High Court in Nepalgunj, according to sources.
Despite the scale of the scam, police have arrested only four individuals so far. Recently, the CIB detained former Nepal Rastra Bank employee Bhuvan Basnet. Earlier arrests include former chairman Pashupati Dayal Mishra, finance chief Dev Prakash Singh Thakuri, and founding chairman Rajendra Bir Rai.
Pashupati Dayal Mishra contested the 2017 House of Representatives election from Banke-2 as an independent candidate using the UML’s Sun symbol. Another independent candidate with the same symbol, Hridayesh Tripathi, won from Nawalparasi. Later, Mishra joined UML and ran for parliament and mayoral positions but faced defeat in all elections.
Rajendra Bir Rai, who also ran as a UML candidate from Salyan in the last election, holds about 80% of the founding shares of Karnali Development Bank. He served as Executive Chairman and CEO for nearly 15 years since the bank’s inception.
With the CIB naming 111 people in its action list, speculation is growing about who else will be implicated in this major financial scandal.
