Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Rabi Lamichhane has written to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressing his intent to speak with his Malaysian counterpart, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, regarding Gitendra Babu Rai, a main suspect in the large-scale embezzlement of cooperative funds who is said to be hiding in the East Asian country.

A senior home ministry official confirmed to the Post that Lamichhane wants to discuss deportation, drug, trafficking, and other issues, with his counterparts in Malaysia, Qatar, and the UAE.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister has sent a letter to Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal expressing Lamichhane’s intent to hold telephone conversation with his Malaysian counterpart, Ismail, and two others, and requested arrangements for talks.

However, a member of Lamichhane’s private secretariat talking to the Post denied any knowledge of any such communication and said they would need to verify with the minister and senior officials. Similarly, the information officer at the home ministry, Ekdev Adhikari, said he is unaware of such development.

Malaysia, the UAE and Qatar are the major destinations for Nepali workers, who often encounter various problems there. Before joining politics, Lamichhane, as a television journalist, championed the cause of migrant workers, and has a huge support base among them. He entered politics in 2022 by launching the Rastriya Swatantra Party a few months ahead of the general elections.

The development coincides with mounting pressure on Home Minister Lamichanne from various quarters to pave the way for an investigation into allegations of his involvement in the embezzlement of funds of savings cooperatives based in Pokhara and Butwal, and his connection with Rai during the establishment of a television company called Gorkha Media Network, which is now defunct.

Lamichanne had also invited Foreign Secretary Lamsal to his office and asked her to arrange telephone calls with his counterparts in Malaysia, UAE, and Qatar.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has, reportedly, withheld the request over concerns that the home minister may influence Rai’s deportation from Malaysia.

The government has already sent a diplomatic note to the Malaysian government seeking Rai’s deportation based on his case in domestic courts and his status as a fugitive accused of embezzling billions of rupees in cooperative members.

After Narayan Kaji Shrestha became deputy prime minister and minister for foreign affairs, the foreign ministry has expedited negotiations with Malaysian authorities, a senior home ministry official said.

Nepali Ambassador to Malaysia Dilli Raj Poudel and other officials of the embassy have met Malaysian authorities and discussed Rai’s deportation, according to the official.

According to foreign ministry officials, they have received assurances from the Malaysian authorities, but no date has been fixed for the deportation.

On the other hand, Lamichhane, who has been denying his role in the embezzlement of cooperative funds, has accused Rai of wrongdoings.

“Why should I bear responsibility for Rai’s mistakes?” Lamichhane had said in his recent clarification.

According to the Nepal Police, they have information that Rai is hiding in Malaysia, and the process of his deportation is underway.

Rai, believed to be the kingpin of the large-scale embezzlement of cooperative funds, is under Interpol's surveillance.

At the request of Nepal Police, the Interpol on January 26 issued a diffusion notice against Rai, and later put out a red notice on February 12.

Rai has been accused of illegally transferring the deposits of thousands of people from various cooperatives to fund his Gorkha Media Network. Home Minister Lamichhane served as the managing director of the network. According to affidavits published by Post’s sister publication, Kantipur, Lamichhane also held a 15 percent stake in Gorkha Media Network.

Following the issuance of diffusion notice against Rai, Malaysian authorities located Rai’s whereabouts and communicated to the Nepali side that he was hiding inside their territory, a senior security official told the Post.