The charity was accused in UK Parliament last week of charging impoverished Nepali former servicemen £500 each for unnecessary resettlement advice before referring the Gurkhas to a British firm of solicitors, under the Legal Aid scheme, it added. [break]
The Ministry of Defence, along with the Ministry of Justice, is investigating the charity´s £500 fees and the referrals, mainly to Howe & Co, a London firm which has represented many former Gurkhas in their struggle to be allowed to live in Britain.
Senior sources at Kent police indicated on Saturday that they are at ´discussion stage´ over a complaint from Bhim Tumbahamphe, a former Gurkha, now living in the county. According to the newspaper, the former serviceman has made serious financial allegations against GAESO.
In addition, Gopal Chintan, GAESO´s former legal adviser, says he has made a formal complaint to the Metropolitan Police over alleged death threats to him from Padam Gurung, the president of the charity, after a Gurkha rally in Britain last year.
The two men have fallen out over the way the charity was run. GAESO and Gurung deny acting improperly. Howe & Co says it has not received any money either from GAESO or any Gurkha.
An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph in Britain and Nepal has uncovered deep-rooted divisions and claims of widespread malpractice in GAESO.
Kevan Jones, the defence minister, ordered an inquiry last week into the fees and referrals. Jones insists there was no need to pay these charges because the Ministry of Defence´s Gurkha Settlement Office in Nepal provides such help for free – an offer taken up by some 3,500 former Gurkhas, the media added.
Jones also made a pointed attack on Joanna Lumley, who became the public face of a high-profile fight for Gurkha veterans to be allowed to settle in Britain. He urged the actress to speak out against the alleged exploitation, adding pointedly: "Her deathly silence, frankly, irritates me." Lumley´s supporters are furious over what they see as a personal and unjustified nature of the attack."
In May last year, Lumley stood clutching a famous curved kukri knife and shouted the war cry "Ayo Gorkhali" – the Gurkhas are coming – after a Commons vote´ paved the way for Gurkhas who served in the British Armed Forces to have the right to live in the UK.
This newspaper has also discovered that a rift had already developed within GAESO by April last year, a month before the jubilant campaign victory scenes in London when Ms Lumley was acclaimed for her commitment to the Gurkha Justice Campaign.
Eleven month ago the charity split at its general convention meeting with Mr Gurung, the president, facing the brunt of the criticism over the way the charity was run.
His biggest critic is Mr Chintan, GAESO´S legal adviser for a decade but who split from the charity to form the "real GAESO" after going public on his criticisms.
In an interview, he claimed Gurkhas had been overcharged and their money – estimated at up to £2 million – should be returned.
The Sunday Telegraph also reported that following the controversy last week Howe & Co now plans to close its controversial office in Nepal. Kieran O´Rourke, a partner with the firm, said: "We are suspending all operations in Nepal until the government investigations are complete. I don´t want our firm´s reputation or those of our clients put at risk. And we are not opening again until it´s clear the Gurkhas are not being exploited."
Howe & Co has received up to £1 million in legal aid for helping up to 1,300 Gurkhas. However, it strenuously deny any impropriety and say they have not received "a penny" from either GAESO or any Gurkhas.
Gurung, the GAESO president, denies all allegations of malpractice. However, he declined to comment last week.
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