Nepal fake Bhutanese refugee scam: Top Bahadur Rayamajhi gets four years

Kathmandu,UPDATED: Jul 15, 2026 20:36 IST

Nepal's former deputy prime minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi has been sentenced to four years in prison for his role in a scheme in which Bhutanese refugees were falsely shown as Nepali citizens and sent to the US. The Kathmandu District Court delivered the sentence on Tuesday in what is known as the fake Bhutanese refugee scam, according to The Kathmandu Post.

Former home minister Bal Krishna Khand was sentenced to two years in prison in the same case. The court also fined Rayamajhi Nepalese Rupee 40,000 and Khand Nepalese Rupee 20,000 while deciding the sentences for 16 people convicted in the matter.

A single bench of Judge Tej Bahadur Khadka at the Kathmandu District Court handed down the sentences. Rayamajhi, a leader of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist and part of the first K P Sharma Oli-led cabinet since 2015, was convicted of fraud, organised crime and offences against the state. Khand was convicted as an accomplice in those offences, the newspaper quoted the court's information officer Shiva Khatiwada as saying.

In its brief order, the court described the fake refugee racket as an offence against the state and said it had directly undermined the dignity of Nepali citizens and damaged Nepal's international image. The court said forgery had been established because genuine official reports had been altered and used in forged reports, and fake identity cards had been issued showing Nepali citizens as Bhutanese refugees.

The case was first filed on May 24, 2023, against 30 people on charges including forgery, fraud, organised crime and offences against the state. Two supplementary charge sheets were later filed in May and July 2024. Three years after the case was filed, the court concluded proceedings on the main case and the two supplementary charge sheets, convicting 16 defendants, acquitting seven, and ordering that proceedings against eight absconding accused remain in abeyance until they are arrested, the newspaper said.

The newspaper, quoting Office of the Attorney General spokesperson Achyut Mani Neupane, said the defendants received separate sentences under charges of forgery, fraud, organised crime, offences against the state and integrated offences based on their individual roles. However, the verdict will be carried out according to the sentence and fine imposed for the integrated offence. Judge Khadka heard the main case along with the two supplementary charge sheets and, on July 7, convicted 16 defendants, including Khand and Rayamajhi, before fixing their prison terms and fines on Tuesday. The court also upheld the charge of integrated offences, ruling that the accused had, through a single criminal episode, committed fraud, forgery of official documents, organised crime and offences against the state.

With Tuesday's order, the Kathmandu District Court has completed sentencing in the main fake Bhutanese refugee scam case, awarding prison terms and fines to the convicted while keeping proceedings against the eight fugitives pending until their arrest.

With PTI Inputs

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