Securities Scam: FNCNE Chairman Nicholas Pandey Named as Defendant, Declared Fugitive in Multi-Million Share Manipulation Case

Nicholas Pandey, Chairman of the Federation of Nepal Construction Entrepreneurs (FNCNE), has been named as a defendant and declared a fugitive in a high-profile securities fraud case. Based on an investigation report compiled by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police, the District Government Attorney's Office filed the formal charge sheet in court, implicating Pandey alongside 80 other individuals in a coordinated market manipulation scheme. The investigation revealed that Pandey, a resident of Bharatpur-10, Chitwan, and son of former minister Bikram Pandey, served as a director of Liberty Micro Life Insurance Limited—a company founded by businessman Deepak Bhatta. According to police findings, the directors of Liberty colluded with external entities to artificially inflate the share prices of Nepal Reinsurance Limited and NLG Insurance Company. Concluding that these deceptive practices directly violated the Securities Act, 2063, the government attorney has submitted a financial claim of Rs. 9.9 million against Pandey and his associates for causing equivalent losses through fraudulent transactions. Notably, Pandey's father, Bikram Pandey, who is a director of Kalika Construction, was also previously arrested by the CIB for allegedly hacking public bidding systems to secure construction contracts.