CIAA charges Bhaktapur land revenue official with illegal assets and money laundering
The CIAA accuses Yadunath Acharya, a subordinate officer at the Bhaktapur Land Revenue Office, of spending far beyond his family’s lawful income and of laundering the proceeds through land deals, shares and a department store.
In this article
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Nepal’s constitutional anti-corruption body, has filed a charge sheet at the Special Court in Kathmandu against Yadunath Acharya, a nayab subba (a non-gazetted subordinate officer) at the Land Revenue Office in Bhaktapur, and five others. The CIAA says Acharya acquired illegal assets worth Rs 97.27 million (Rs 9,72,71,989). The charge sheet was filed on 2 November (16 Kartik 2083 BS).
In the same charge sheet, the CIAA accuses Acharya of laundering criminal proceeds and seeks a further claim of Rs 91.98 million (Rs 9,19,84,576). These are allegations; the court has made no finding.
The CIAA’s calculation
Acharya joined government service on 2 Magh 2054 BS (January 1998) as a village development committee secretary under the District Development Committee in Khotang. The CIAA examined the period from his appointment to 21 Mangsir 2080 BS (December 2023). It puts the lawful income of Acharya and his household in that period, from salary, his wife’s savings, property sales, loans, refunded deposits, farming and interest, at Rs 62.56 million.
Against that, it says the family spent or invested Rs 159.84 million on land and houses, registration fees, capital gains tax, an investment in a department store, deposits on land deals, loans to others, vehicles, education, shares, loan repayments and bank balances. The difference is treated as illegal property under section 20 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2002 (2059 BS).
Money-laundering allegation
The CIAA alleges that Rs 82.62 million of criminal proceeds went through the stages of placement, layering and integration, by way of land transactions in Kathmandu, Gothatar, Biratnagar and Tankisinwari, deposits on land purchases, share trading, an investment in a department store and dealings with several individuals. It charges this as an offence under section 3 of the Asset (Money) Laundering Prevention Act, 2008 (2064 BS), and has published flow charts of the transactions alongside its press release.
The accused and the penalties sought
- Yadunath Acharya: imprisonment, fine and confiscation for illegal assets; for money laundering, punishment under section 30(1) of the 2008 Act plus an additional 10 per cent under section 30(7) because he is a public servant.
- His wife, Lalita Rajbhandari: punishment as an accomplice on both counts, and confiscation.
- Two daughters: named as defendants for the purpose of confiscation only.
- Two other individuals from Bhaktapur and Kathmandu: accused as accomplices in transactions through the department store, with a claim of Rs 3.89 million (Rs 38,86,182).
The CIAA also relies on the former Prevention of Corruption Act, 1960 (2017 BS) and section 29B of the CIAA Act, 1991 (2048 BS) to seek confiscation or recovery of the assets.
Why it matters
The CIAA has increasingly combined illegal-asset and money-laundering charges in a single case. How the Special Court treats such combined charges will matter for future asset investigations of officials in land and revenue offices, an area that accounted for 6.77 per cent of the complaints the CIAA handled in fiscal year 2025/26, according to its latest annual report.
What happens next
The Special Court will record the defendants’ statements, decide on detention or bail and proceed to hearings. The defendants’ responses have not been made public; they will have the opportunity to defend themselves in court.
Sources
The charge sheet names all defendants. Nyayapalika has not published the names of defendants other than the principal accused and his wife.
Primary sources
- Press release: charge sheet filed (Yadunath Acharya and others), with transaction charts — Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, 2 Nov 2026
- Press release on the 36th annual report (FY 2082/83) — CIAA, 17 Sep 2026
Other reporting
- Corruption and money-laundering case against six including land revenue officer (in Nepali) — Ratopati, 2 Nov 2026
- Case filed against six including Bhaktapur land revenue officer Acharya (in Nepali) — Karobar Daily, 2 Nov 2026
