A Kathmandu District Court has convicted former Deputy Prime Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand, and 14 others in the fake Bhutanese refugee scam — a case that shook Nepal's political establishment and exposed a coordinated conspiracy to fraudulently send Nepali citizens to the United States under the guise of refugee resettlement.

The verdict, delivered on 8 July, marks a rare instance of senior political figures in Nepal being held judicially accountable for a state-level fraud that the court itself described as an offence against the nation.

What the Court Found

Presiding Judge Tej Bahadur Khadka found the defendants guilty on charges including forgery, fraud, organised crime, and offences against the state — with specific charges varying based on each individual's role in the scheme. The court held that the accused had deceived Nepali citizens by falsely promising to send them to the US, exploiting the pretext of additional Bhutanese refugee resettlement quotas — even though the third-country resettlement programme had formally concluded in 2016.

Counterfeit identity cards identifying individuals as Bhutanese refugees were found to have been issued, and a fake report was used to alter original documents, according to the court order.

Who Was Convicted

Alongside Rayamajhi and Khand, those convicted include former Home Secretary Tek Narayan Pandey; scam network members Keshav Dulal, Sanu Bhandari, Sagar Rai, Sandesh Sharma, and Indrajit Rai — the security adviser to then Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa. Also convicted were Govinda Chaudhary; former Nepali Congress lawmaker Angtawa Sherpa; Shamsher Miya, then chair of the Haj Committee; Narendra KC, personal secretary to then Home Minister Khand; alleged middleman Hari Bhakta Maharjan; and Niranjan Kumar Kharel.

The court noted that while no evidence was found that Khand personally received any money, he was convicted as an accomplice in organised fraud for acting under the network's undue influence and facilitating the scheme.

Why the Court Called It Organised Crime

The court's order was unambiguous in classifying the conspiracy as organised crime, stating: 'The offence of organised crime has been established because the coordinated scheme involved political figures, administrators, government employees and middlemen, who collectively defrauded victims of large sums of money by falsely promising to send them to the United States as Bhutanese refugees. Such acts cannot be regarded as ordinary fraud committed by individuals.'

The court further observed that those responsible had directly undermined the dignity of Nepali citizens and damaged Nepal's international reputation.

Background: The Bhutanese Refugee Crisis

Over 100,000 Bhutanese refugees had been living in camps in Nepal since the late 1980s, following the alleged ethnic persecution of the Nepali-speaking minority in Bhutan. Between 2007 and 2016, approximately 113,000 of these refugees were resettled across eight countries, primarily the United States, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). The scam exploited public awareness of this programme to deceive Nepali citizens into paying for fraudulent resettlement slots.

Sentences and Acquittals

Of the 30 individuals originally charged, seven were acquitted after the prosecution failed to prove charges against them. Cases against remaining absconding defendants remain in abeyance. The court is yet to determine sentences for those convicted; a hearing has been scheduled for 13 July to decide penalties.

The verdict is expected to set a significant precedent for political accountability in Nepal, where high-profile convictions of serving or former senior officials have historically been rare.