Congress MP Maya Rai nabbed in Swarnalaxmi Cooperative fraud case

KATHMANDU: Maya Rai, a central committee member of the Nepali Congress and a Member of Parliament, has been arrested by the police in connection with the Swarnalaxmi Savings and Credit Cooperative fraud case.

According to SSP Ramesh Basnet, head of the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office, Rai was detained from her residence in Kapan on Saturday night.

Rai faces charges related to fraud and organized crime at the Swarnalaxmi Cooperative in Kalimati, for which a warrant was issued by the Kathmandu District Court after a recommendation to file charges.

It is notable that Rai held the position of assistant secretary at the cooperative in 2017. Investigations have revealed that nearly 5,669 depositors were defrauded of over Rs 2.65 billion.

Initial complaints alone claim that 690 victims lost around NPR 1.19 billion.

In this case, several individuals, including Gitenndra Babu (GB) Rai, the chairman of Gorkha Media, former managing director Rabi Lamichhane, and former DIG Chhabilal Banjade Joshi of the Nepal Police, were named in a case filed last December.

At the time of filing, 34 of the 39 accused individuals were absconding.

The investigation report suggests that the funds from the cooperative were misused by various shareholders, profit-driven companies, and other unauthorized individuals.

Initially, Maya Rai was not included in the list of accused, but following further investigations, she was arrested under the direction of the government attorney.

Rai was elected as a central committee member of the Nepali Congress in the 14th General Convention through the indigenous quota.

She is affiliated with the faction of party president Sher Bahadur Deuba and was elected to the House of Representatives through the proportional representation system.