The Rise & Fall Ledger
Every great Nepali fortune has two columns. The Ledger records both: how each name rose, what has gone wrong, and where they stand today.
The Ledger summarises public reporting and each person’s legal status as of 10 October 2026, with the source for each line and a link to our story. An arrest, investigation or charge is not a finding of guilt. We did not contact the people listed; anyone named may send a response to [email protected], and we will publish relevant replies.
| Name & house | How they rose | What has happened since | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binod ChaudharyCG Corp Global | Nepal's only Forbes billionaire, $2.1 bn in March 2026. Wai Wai, Nabil Bank, hotels in 30+ countries. | CG properties and his home were attacked during the 2025 uprising. IANS | Steady |
| Chandra Prasad DhakalIME Group / Global IME Bank | Founded IME Remit in 2001; built Nepal's largest bank from 21 mergers. Handles about half of all remittances. | Global IME Bank has grown through mergers, the largest with Bank of Kathmandu. The Rising Nepal | Rising |
| Min Bahadur GurungBhat-Bhateni Supermarket | A 1984 corner shop grown into 28 stores and Nepal's largest retailer. | Lost more than Rs 11bn when 12 stores burned on 9 September 2025; ten have been rebuilt. The Kathmandu Post | Rising |
| Akshay GolyanGolyan Group | Took the chair in December 2025; 320 MW+ of hydropower and ~10% of national exports. | The next generation of the Golyan Group, with assets in hydropower. The Kathmandu Post | Rising |
| Upendra MahatoNRN founder, Ncell early investor | From a Siraha village to post-Soviet trading and an early stake in Nepal's second mobile network. | Reporting has questioned the tax paid on his Ncell gains; no court has found against him. The Record | Steady |
| Shesh Ghale & Jamuna GurungMelbourne Institute of Technology | 18 straight years on Australia's rich list; peaked around 80th. | Placed 150th and 151st on Australia's 2026 rich list. The Himalayan Times | Steady |
| Satish Lal AcharyaSpectrlite UK / Ncell | Bought 80% of Nepal's second-largest telecom for $50 million in 2023. | A government committee questioned the valuation of the Ncell sale; he has not been charged. Nepali Telecom | Under investigation |
| Shekhar GolchhaGolchha Group | Heir to Nepal's first jute mill; FNCCI president 2020–23. | Detained in April 2026 and charged in October in the Himalayan Re case; he denies wrongdoing. The Kathmandu Post | Charged, no verdict |
| GB RaiGorkha Media Network | Launched Galaxy 4K to rival Nepal's biggest broadcasters. | Arrest warrants issued in the cooperative funds case; believed to be abroad. Online Khabar | Wanted |
| Shanker GroupJagdamba Steel, Hilton Kathmandu | Jagdamba Steel; built Hilton Kathmandu, the city's tallest hotel, opened 2024. | Hilton Kathmandu burned in 2025; two group leaders were detained in April 2026 in the Bhatta inquiry. OCCRP | Under investigation |
| Devi Prakash BhattachanPrabhu Group | Built a remittance agent into a commercial bank through seven mergers and won a parliamentary seat. | A case was filed against him in December 2025; there is no verdict. Kantipur | Charged, no verdict |
| Ang Tshering Sherpa (d. 2019)Yeti Group | Rose from trek kitchen boy to founder of Nepal's largest tourism house, with airlines, resorts and lodges. | The group faces questions over the 2023 Pokhara crash and the Gokarna resort lease. Fiscal Nepal | Steady |
| Rajendra Kumar KhetanKhetan Group | Exited Carlsberg South Asia for $744m and redeployed into banking, insurance and Fonepay. | Bought a stake in Fonepay in September 2025 and has raised his holding in Laxmi Sunrise Bank. The Kathmandu Post | Rising |
| Kailash SirohiyaKantipur Media Group | Turned Kantipur into the defining commercial media success of Nepal's democratic era. | Arrested in 2024 and released without charge; Kantipur's offices were set on fire in 2025. The Kathmandu Post | Steady |
| Ajeya Raj Sumargi ParajuliMuktishree Group | Early telecom investor who launched Hello Nepal and brought large foreign funds into Nepali ventures. | An inquiry into his offshore transfers was reopened in 2026, then paused by the Supreme Court. Nepal News | Under investigation |
| Anil Keshary ShahNabil Bank | Rose from a junior post at Grindlays to lead Nabil twice and Mega Bank for eight years. | Returned to Nabil Bank's board in January 2026. Banking News | Rising |
Read the stories
Prabhu Group's Devi Prakash Bhattachan: from remittances to a bank, and a fraud case still before the court
The chairman who built a money-transfer business into a commercial bank and a life insurer faces a fraud case over unpaid remittance agents, which he denies. Nearly a year after it was filed, no verdict has been reported.
GB Rai, Gorkha Media and the cooperative savings still caught up in court
A parliamentary committee said cooperative savings reached GB Rai's television company. He remains abroad, the heaviest charges were dropped in May 2026, and the cooperative fraud charges have not been tested in court.
Cosmic Air Nepal: how the first private jet airline rose and fell
Cosmic Air put the first jets on Nepal's domestic routes and flew to Delhi, Dhaka, Kolkata and Varanasi. Fare cuts, fuel debts and lease arrears grounded it within two years, and the regulator cancelled its certificate in 2010.
Janakpur Cigarette Factory: how Nepal's state cigarette monopoly fell
A Soviet-aided factory once ran Nepal's cigarette market. Private competition, losses and politics shut it in 2011. Its land is now worth more than the business, and it houses Madhesh Province's government.
Nepal Bangladesh Bank: the run, the NRB takeover and the Nabil merger
A 1994 joint venture with two Bangladeshi lenders suffered a run in November 2006, was taken over by Nepal Rastra Bank, recovered under its management and was absorbed by Nabil Bank in 2022.
Nepal's oldest industrial house and the court cases facing its chairman, Shekhar Golchha
The Golchha family's roots go back to Nepal's first factory. Its chairman, a former FNCCI president, is now a defendant in insurance and money-laundering cases linked to Himalayan Reinsurance. He denies wrongdoing and is on bail.