Former Nepal Ministers Charged in US-Bound Refugee Scam with 30 Others

Nepali prosecutors have charged 30 individuals, including two former cabinet ministers, with corruption for allegedly faking documents for Nepali nationals to enter the United States as Bhutanese refugees. The accused, who face charges of cheating, organised crime, document forgery, and state offence, are said to have collected large sums of money from hundreds of Nepali nationals with the promise of sending them to the US as refugees. If found guilty, they could be imprisoned for more than 15 years. The Kathmandu Post reports that the accused have allegedly swindled around 875 Nepali nationals of millions of rupees. The case was registered at the Kathmandu District Court after police investigated the allegations.