Former Nepali Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara Arrested in High-Profile Gold Smuggling Case

Former Speaker of Napal's House of Representatives and senior Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) leader, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, has been arrested by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police. The high profile arrest, made on Sunday from his residence in Lalitpur, is in connection with a major gold smuggling case that has drawn widespread national attention.

The CIB confirmed that the 67 year old leader, who also serves as the Vice Chair of the CPN (Maoist Centre), was taken into custody on charges related to organized crime and customs fraud. The investigation links Mahara to the 2022 seizure of approximately nine kilograms of smuggled gold, valued at an estimated Nepali Rupees 85.5 million, which was concealed inside electric cigarettes (vapes) brought into the country by a Chinese national via Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).

According to the police, the investigation revealed that the gold was intended to be sold in the local market through a criminal network involving some customs officials. Mahara is specifically accused of using his political influence to exert pressure on customs authorities to secure the release of the confiscated gold, thereby facilitating the organized smuggling operation.

This development follows renewed legal momentum in the case, which saw Mahara’s son, Rahul Mahara, arrested and sent to jail earlier in connection with the same network. Investigators have reportedly secured call records indicating continuous communication between the former Speaker, his son, and the Chinese nationals involved in the smuggling.

While Mahara had previously been questioned and released in connection with the incident, the latest arrest is seen as a significant breakthrough, following indications from the interim government of an intent to pursue politically stalled corruption cases. The Kathmandu District Attorney's Office has since formally filed charges against Mahara in the District Court under the Organized Crime and Customs Act.

Mahara, a veteran politician and former Foreign Affairs Minister, has had a long and occasionally controversial political career, having previously been acquitted of an attempted rape charge in 2020. His latest detention marks one of the most high-profile arrests in Nepal's recent political history and is expected to have notable implications for the CPN (Maoist Centre) and the country’s current political landscape. The CIB has stated that further investigation into the intricate smuggling network is ongoing.

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