KATHMANDU: A case has been filed in the Kathmandu District Court against 22 individuals, including a claim for Rs 96.12 billion in forfeiture, regarding the Smart Telecom auction scandal.

According to Shiva Khatiwada, Information Officer at the Kathmandu District Court, the District Government Attorney’s Office registered the prosecution on Wednesday.

The defendants in the case include Smart Telecom, Ncell, Nepal Investment Mega Bank, their officials, and seven foreign nationals, making a total of 22 defendants.

Khatiwada stated that charges have been filed against the officials of Ncell, Smart Telecom, and Nepal Investment Mega Bank under Criminal Breach of Trust and Fraud, Organized Crime, and the Bank and Financial Institutions Act (BAFIA).

Among those named as defendants are Ncell Chairman Satish Lal Acharya, Board Member Sachin Lal Acharya, and seven foreign nationals. Similarly, eight individuals from Nepal Investment Mega Bank, including Chairman Prithvi Bahadur Pande and CEO Jyoti Prakash Pande, have been named as defendants.

The case also names former Chairman of the Nepal Telecommunications Authority Bhupendra Bhandari, Smart Telecom Chairman Sarvesh Joshi, and individuals from three other companies that participated in the Smart Telecom auction.

According to Khatiwada, separate forfeiture claims have been established against all three entities and their officials. The forfeiture claim against Ncell and its officials stands at Rs 87 billion, while nearly Rs 9 billion in forfeiture has been demanded against Smart Telecom and Nepal Investment Mega Bank.

Khatiwada stated that the case was filed based on an investigation report submitted by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police after a roughly three-month-long probe. The Bureau submitted its investigation report to the District Government Attorney’s Office last Friday.

The investigation was initiated after the bank unlawfully auctioned Smart Telecom to Ncell for Rs 4.60 billion, during which past transactions and share transfers between Smart Cell and Ncell were scrutinized.

Diffusion and Red Notices to be issued

Five individuals have been arrested so far in connection with the Smart Telecom–Ncell case: CEO Pande, Bhandari, Joshi, Palina Shrestha, and Narendra Ulak. Among them, only Bhandari remains in custody. Pande and Joshi were released under a Supreme Court order, while Shrestha and Ulak were released on bail by the police.

Ncell Chairman Acharya and Bank Chairman Prithvi Bahadur Pande are currently abroad. Police are preparing to initiate the process of issuing Diffusion and Red Notices to arrest them.

According to Bureau Spokesperson Senior Superintendent of Police Anupam Shamsher Rana, the CIB is getting ready to issue these notices. “A separate legal procedure is required to extradite foreign residents for crimes committed in Nepal,” he said. “We are proceeding with that process.”

Police utilize the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to arrest such individuals by issuing Diffusion and Red Notices. A Diffusion Notice is a procedure used to locate a person hiding abroad, while a Red Notice is a formal letter sent by Nepal Police to Interpol requesting an arrest. Interpol, upon request from a member country’s police, mobilizes police forces across member states to arrest and extradite hidden suspects. “Now that the case has been registered, court preliminary orders and deadlines to appear will follow, after which the police will advance the Interpol process,” Rana said.

Pande moves from the US to Thailand

Fearing police arrest, Nepal Investment Mega Bank Chairman Prithvi Bahadur Pande, who had fled to the United States, has now moved to Thailand. An investigating officer at the Bureau stated that Pande reached Thailand after police advanced the prosecution process to the Government Attorney’s Office in Nepal. “While it was understood that he was preparing to return to Nepal, a court order against his arrest here remains active,” the CIB officer said. “Following the court’s preliminary order, he will either return voluntarily, or police will proceed with their process.”

Police intensified their search for Pande after his brother, Jyoti, was arrested. He was in Nepal throughout the month of June and July, going ‘underground’ while attempting various measures to settle the case. After those attempts failed, the Bureau stated that Pande fled to the US.

Anticipating that he and bank officials might be arrested, he filed a petition in the Supreme Court through his brother Jyoti. In the court, Jyoti requested an order of mandamus along with certiorari against the arrest. Hearing the petition on August 6, the court issued a preliminary order directing authorities not to arrest him until the final hearing of the case.

Chairman Pande is also accused of trying to provoke the international community against the government. After attempts were made to influence the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the CIB issued arrest warrants against all eight bank officials. However, after challenging the arrest warrants in court, the remaining bank officials have not been arrested.

Following allegations that Chairman Pande met with members of the international community, World Bank officials, and Western diplomats, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers had been pressing police to accelerate the investigation.

After arresting Jyoti Prakash for fraud and breach of trust regarding Smart Cell, police began gathering further evidence. Security agencies sought additional leads from Pande’s chats, and police are preparing to arrest him and initiate a money laundering investigation. “Evidence of various methods used by Prithvi Bahadur Pande to acquire assets was found in WhatsApp chats and other records,” the officer said. “We are also investigating through other avenues.”

Following the formation of the Balen Shah-led government, Chairman Pande came under the ‘radar’ as monitoring and investigations into controversial business figures intensified. Pande became a primary focus of enforcement actions targeting those who maintained favorable relations with previous regimes and accumulated assets through illegal activities.

The government had deployed state security agencies and the intelligence department to collect evidence against him. “The Prime Minister’s Office was angered after individuals close to him contacted secretariat staff, promising cooperation and requesting facilitation,” a source stated.

Police claim that communications between Pande and Nepali Congress leader Arzu Rana were uncovered during the investigation. Following this, under direct instructions from the Prime Minister, surveillance on him was continuously increased, according to the source.

The Bureau claims that although Pande made his brother Jyoti the CEO, he personally conducted the actual operations. “There are also allegations of making unnatural loan arrangements and irregularities,” the Bureau officer stated.