KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Office of the Attorney General has quietly begun internal preparations to withdraw money-laundering and organized crime charges against Rastriya Swatantra Party president Rabi Lamichhane, according to senior government sources told Nepal News, even as fraud cases linked to multiple cooperative scandals remain active.

According to officials familiar with the matter told to Nepal News, Attorney General Sabita Bhandari herself has overseen the receipt of the application and tasked trusted aides with preliminary legal preparations.

The move follows a confidential application submitted by Lamichhane requesting that prosecutors retain cooperative fraud charges but drop the more serious charges of money laundering and organized crime. Sources told Nepal News that the effort is being handled discreetly within the Attorney General’s Office, citing the political and legal sensitivity of the case.

Under Nepali law, a sitting lawmaker is not barred from parliamentary duties while facing fraud charges. However, the filing of a money-laundering case triggers the automatic suspension of a member of Parliament—an outcome that Lamichhane is seeking to avoid.

Lamichhane faces allegations in multiple districts. The earliest case was filed at the Kaski District Court over the alleged embezzlement of funds from Surydarshan Cooperative, charging him with cooperative fraud, organized crime and money laundering.

Similar charges followed in Kathmandu related to Swarnalakshmi Cooperative and in Rupandehi over the Supreme Cooperative. In Chitwan’s Sahara Cooperative case, only fraud charges were filed.

In his application, Lamichhane has argued that the selective addition of money-laundering and organized crime charges in some districts—but not others—for the same category of alleged offense constitutes injustice, and he has sought withdrawal of those two charges.

According to senior sources at the Office of the Attorney General, most senior government prosecutors are opposed to withdrawing the serious cases currently under trial and have chosen to distance themselves from the process.

Following their reluctance, the matter has been taken over directly by Attorney General Sabita Bhandari. Sources said that Rabi Lamichhane’s senior layers, including former attorneys general Sushil Panta and Raman Shrestha, are in direct contact with the attorney general, seeking a swift decision.

Complicating matters further, money-laundering cases fall under a category generally deemed non-withdrawable under existing legal frameworks of Nepal.