Nepal court jails 2 former ministers, 14 others over refugee scam

A court in Nepal has sentenced two former government ministers and 14 other individuals to jail time for their involvement in a scam that forged documents to facilitate the resettlement of Nepali nationals in the United States as Bhutanese refugees. The rulings were delivered late on July 14.

Former Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi was found guilty of offenses against the state, fraud, and involvement in organized crime. He received a four-year prison sentence. Former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand was sentenced to two years in jail as an accomplice. Both men have previously denied any wrongdoing.

Lawyers for Rayamajhi and Khand stated their clients would appeal the verdict. Rayamajhi's lawyer argued his client was not involved in policy-making for refugees, while Khand's lawyer also confirmed an appeal. Fourteen other individuals, including a former top bureaucrat from the home ministry and a former Bhutanese refugee leader, received sentences of up to four years.

The scam came to light in 2023, after both ministers had left their government positions. Since the early 1990s, approximately 120,000 Bhutanese nationals of Nepali origin have fled to Nepal. Many have been resettled in Western countries, including the US, Canada, and Australia, through third-country resettlement programs, as bilateral talks between Bhutan and Nepal failed to yield repatriation agreements. Washington alone has resettled about 100,000 refugees from Nepal.

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never involved in policy making for the refugees