Nepal's judiciary has sentenced former Deputy Prime Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and ex-Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand, along with fourteen others, for their alleged involvement in a fake refugee document scam.
Rayamajhi was handed a four-year prison term, while Khand received two years. Others involved were also convicted for their roles in the fraudulent scheme.
The case originated from a 2023 investigation after authorities uncovered a plot to pass off Nepali nationals as Bhutanese refugees for a US-led resettlement program. Whether any individuals actually managed to resettle in the US under this scheme has not been verified.
Following last year's youth-led protests that collapsed the former government, this court ruling arrives amidst a renewed national focus on corruption settlement in the US through the alleged scheme.
