Reported by
Nepalese authorities charged former Speaker of Parliament Krishna Bahadur Mahara on Monday with gold smuggling and organized crime, marking the first high-profile arrest by the newly-installed interim government as it looks to crack down on corruption.
At least 76 people died and around 3,300 were injured during protests last month that toppled the government, torched parliament, and saw crowds beat the foreign minister and her husband, a former prime minister, in their home.
The youth-led demonstrations, dubbed “Gen Z”, were sparked by a government ban on social media, but quickly escalated into nationwide marches that fed on long-standing grievances over corruption and misgovernance.
Nepal’s interim Home Affairs Minister Om Prakash Aryal warned last month, days after being sworn into office, that there would soon be a “breakthrough” in investigations stalled by political influence.
Prosecutors accuse 66 year-old Mahara of involvement in a scheme to smuggle gold worth over 85 million Nepali rupees ($600,000) into the country three years ago, according to a court document seen by OCCRP.
Mahara appeared in court on Monday looking tense, wearing a traditional Nepalese cloth hat, white shirt, and a black striped blazer, a day after being arrested.
“I have no involvement in the illegal import of the gold,” Mahara said in a statement given to police, according to the documents.
Mahara, a veteran politician who has also served as deputy prime minister, was arrested and released on bail last year after nine kilograms of gold concealed in hundreds of vapes were discovered in luggage at Kathmandu’s main international airport.
Authorities accuse him and his son Rahul of attempting to pressure customs officials to release or auction the gold which had been transported by a Chinese national from Dubai.
The suspect was arrested on Christmas Day, 2022, at Tribhuvan International Airport carrying the two suitcases containing 730 e-cigarettes packed with gold, the police’s Central Investigation Bureau said in a statement on Monday.
Prosecutors hope to recover around $600,000 from Mahara, and are seeking the maximum three to five-year prison term, according to the court documents.
Dev Gurung, who is a member of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Center) along with Mahara, told OCCRP that “the revival of this old case appears deeply troubling.”
Gurung cautioned that political revenge should not be carried out “under the guise of legal procedures.”
