Kathmandu, January 23
A case has been registered in the District Court, Kathmandu, against 17 individuals, including businessman Bimal Poddar, who was implicated in the 33.5 kilogram gold smuggling case, under the Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 2002, and charges of organised crime for involvement in crypto and hundi.
Sandesh Shrestha, District Attorney of the Kathmandu District Government Prosecutor’s Office, said that the case was filed in court based on a report submitted by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB).
On November 22, 2023, CIB arrested businessman Rupesh Shrestha on charges of hundi and online gambling, initiating an investigation.
CIB officials reported that during the investigation, they uncovered the country’s largest hundi and cryptocurrency trading group.
Dipesh Shrestha, Rupesh’s brother, was also named as a defendant when the case was filed in court after a 60-day investigation. According to the police, he is currently residing in the US and is allegedly assisting in illegal cryptocurrency trading in Nepal.
Police have identified businessman Bimal Poddar as another individual involved in cryptocurrency transactions with Rupesh.
Poddar, the owner of Silver City Apartments and The Address Lounge in Kathmandu, is also under investigation in connection with the case involving 14 kilograms of gold seized by the airport customs office.
Ashish Agarwal, Meen Bahadur GC, Kumar Pariyar, and Jhanindra Prasad Khatiwada are also named as defendants in this case.
Racahna Sharma, Bimal Poddar, Om Kumar Shrestha, Bigal Singh Sharma, Sharad Bhattarai, Birendra Magar, Deepak Sharma, Wangden Phunsok Lama, Govinda Prasad Shrestha, Rude Tamang and Anshul Shrestha who are absconding have also been made defendants.
