The proprietor of the Sambhav Real Estate, Dechen Tshering, has been sentenced to 132 years, 9 months in prison for various offences including tax evasion, fraudulent insolvency, forgery and breach of contract.
Since no formal criminal charges were filed against him by the government, he can pay a fine of Nu 5.9 M in lieu of imprisonment. He has also been asked to pay a sum of Nu.2.5 M fine for tax evasion to the Government.
Also, since he sold most of the properties mortgaged with Bhutan National Bank, he has been asked to close his loan accounts and pay the bank a sum of over Nu 171 M within one month. The bank can seize the mortgaged properties, otherwise.
The defendant has also been ordered to pay a compensation of over Nu.1.3 M to the 21 buyers who bought flats from him.
It all started in 2011 when Bhutan National Bank filed a case against him for non-payment of the monthly loan installment.
