A case has been filed at the Kathmandu District Court against former home minister and Rastriya Swatantra Party chair Rabi Lamichhane and 38 others for alleged embezzlement of funds from the Kathmandu-based Swarnalaxmi Multipurpose Cooperative.

The District Government Attorney’s Office, based on police investigations, registered the case on Sunday.

The accused include former board members of Gorkha Media Pvt Ltd and key officials of the Swarnalaxmi Cooperative. Among them are former vice chair Chhabilal Joshi, chair Gitendra Babu (GB) Rai, vice chair Devendra Babu Rai, treasurer Kumar Ramtel, secretary Iran Lama, joint secretary Kabita Tamang, and members Hemant Adhikari, Rabina Rimal, and former chair Deepak Lama. They are accused of misappropriating funds amounting to Rs1.199 billion.

Also, former treasurer Sabina Alemagar, members Bhakta Bahadur Bholan, Sabita Lama, former Secretary Pradeep Lama, accounts coordinator Ganeshraj Shrestha, and former committee members Kalpana Kumari Shrestha and Raju Baral, among others, have been chargesheeted in the case.

The charges include allegations of cooperative fraud and organised financial crimes. The police investigation suggests the funds were systematically mismanaged and diverted, prompting legal action against 39 individuals.

This comes as Lamichhane, Joshi and Ramtel, among others, are already under scrutiny for another fraud case concerning Pokhara-based Suryadarshan Cooperative.

Police have been investigating them on charges of embezzling funds from cooperatives based in Butwal, Chitwan and Parsa as well.