KATHMANDU: Sarbesh Joshi, former chairman of Smart Telecom Pvt. Ltd., has been arrested on charges of fraud and criminal breach of trust.

The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police arrested him on Monday, stating that he was involved in fraudulent activities and criminal breach of trust with the intent of unlawfully depriving the Government of Nepal of its rightful claims.

The CIB said he has been taken into custody with permission from the Kathmandu District Court, and an investigation is underway.

Smart Telecom Pvt. Ltd. had obtained a basic telephone service operating license from the Nepal Telecommunications Authority on April 2, 2013. However, since the company failed to renew its license as required by regulations, the license was automatically revoked on April 16, 2023.

After the license was automatically revoked, all assets, telecom infrastructure, and installations of the service provider were taken under control by the authority in accordance with the Regulations on Asset Management of Telecommunications Service Providers.