A charge sheet has been filed against two individuals in connection with the seizure of foreign currency worth Rs 253.478 million from a truck in Tokha, Kathmandu.
The District Public Prosecutor’s Office, Kathmandu, filed the case at the Kathmandu District Court following an investigation by the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI). The main accused, Narayan Poudel, a local Maoist leader, and Kunsang Lama, alias Fuchhe, the truck driver, have been charged under multiple sections of the Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act, 2019.
DRI Deputy Director General Krishna Kumari Shrestha confirmed that the charge sheet was filed on Tuesday.
Acting on intelligence that illegal foreign currency was being smuggled to China via the Rasuwagadhi border crossing, the police stopped the truck with registration number Na 7 Kha 1652 in Tokha at 11 p.m. on March 17 and took control of the vehicle. The truck driver, Kunsang Lama—who also owns the vehicle—was arrested, along with a large sum of foreign currency hidden in a false compartment above the driver’s cabin.
During a search, the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office recovered 1.375 million euros and US dollars 320,805 in high-denomination bills. The following day, the police handed over the truck and driver to the DRI.
Deputy Director Shrestha said both Lama and Poudel have been charged under Sections 3, 4, 5, and 9 of the Foreign Exchange Act. The department has also requested the confiscation of the container truck under the Criminal Assets and Means (Prevention, Control, and Confiscation) Act, 2017, and the seizure of the currency under Section 17 of the Foreign Exchange Act.
Lama has a prior conviction for gold smuggling, for which he was sentenced on August 10, 2017. Since he committed another offense within five years of completing that sentence, the DRI has sought additional punishment under Section 44 of the Criminal Code, 2017.
Meanwhile, the second accused, Narayan Poudel, remains at large. An arrest warrant has been issued, and a request has been made for the court to initiate proceedings in absentia.
"Poudel, the owner of the seized Rs 250 million, is a controversial figure involved in multiple scandals, including gold smuggling. We have decided to arrest him for further investigation," DRI Director General Chandi Prasad told New Business Age. He also confirmed that the department has already requested relevant agencies to freeze Poudel’s assets.
According to DRI sources, Poudel’s four brothers are also allegedly involved in illegal activities, including smuggling, hundi, foreign currency rackets, and red sandalwood trafficking.
