By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Aug. 15: The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) has arrested a fugitive, who had evaded law after being condemned guilty over banking and forgery offences.

In a press statement released on Saturday, the bureau identified the culprit as 43-year-old Kedar Dhungana. Dhungana was found guilty by the Lalitpur District Court on charges of committing forgery offences in 10 different cases. The court had sentenced Dhungana to one year in prison and Rs. 70,000 fine for each of the 10 cases in January 2020.

As per CIB, there are still five cases of forgery against Dhungana at Kathmandu District Court and 16 cases of banking offences lodged at Patan High Court. The cases are still pending the court’s ruling.

“Dhungana was among a dozen individuals who committed a forgery of Rs. 27.176 million from the then Deva Development Bank through vehicle loan. They had provided fake vehicle documents to receive the loan from the bank’s branches in Kathmandu and Lalitpur,” said Superintendent of Police (SP) Shyam Kumar Mahato.

A case was filed by the bank on December 15, 2018. Four days later, the bureau had obtained an arrest warrant against Dhungana. Dhungana’s involvement was revealed after interrogating some of the arrested individuals. Some bank officials’ involvement was also revealed.

However, Dhungana was found to be in the United Arab Emirates during the period.

A diffusion notice was then issued against Dhungana on January 1, 2019. However, he wasn’t arrested.

Two years later, the CIB received information that Dhungana had applied for a residence permit in Portugal. The bureau then changed the diffusion notice to Red Notice against Dhunagana.

“Dhungana was arrested in Portugal by the coordination between Interpol Section of Nepal Police Headquarters and National Central Bureau of Portugal in Lisbon. He was repatriated to Kathmandu on Saturday,” read the statement by CIB.

SP Mahato, who is also the spokesperson for CIB, informed that they presented Dhungana before the court on Sunday.