The Supreme Court sentenced Anim Damchoe to nine years in prison for the misappropriation of the project fund and possession of unexplained wealth. This is related to the Buddha Dordenma’s project. The court upheld the High Court’s judgment. It was passed on Wednesday.
After the High Court convicted Damchoe Choden, commonly known as Anim Damchoe to nine years in prison for misappropriation of funds and possession of unexplained wealth, she appealed to the Supreme Court in June this year.
According to the judgment, the Supreme Court also determined that the Buddha Dordenma project though initiated by Lam Tshering Wangdi is not a private venture but a government project.
The judgement states that the state provided basic infrastructure like road, electricity, and water, and waived off tax for visits by the project’s foreign sponsors to Bhutan.
Moreover, the Supreme Court ordered properties seized by the Anti-Corruption Commission from Anim Damchoe to be auctioned and the proceeds to be deposited into the Buddha Dordenma project’s account. The seized properties include a land near the swimming pool in Thimphu, a Prado, a Fortuner and an Alto car.
The Supreme Court sentenced her to eight years in prison for misappropriation of funds. According to the judgment, Anim Damchoe misappropriated over Nu 53 M from the project fund. Earlier this year, the High Court’s judgment stated that she misappropriated Nu 57 M. But there was a decrease of Nu 4 M when it comes to the Supreme Court’s judgment, which the court stated that during the legal proceedings, Anim Damchoe submitted evidence of using the funds for the project.
According to the judgment, she has to restitute more than Nu 56 M within six months from the day of the judgment. This includes Nu 3 M borrowed by one of her relatives from the project fund and Nu 150,000 also used by an individual.
In addition to the eight-year imprisonment, she was given an additional one-year prison term for possessing unexplained wealth. However, she can pay Nu 45,000 in lieu of the prison term.
Kinzang Lhadon
Edited by Tshering Zam
