Former speaker and Maoist Centre Vice-chair Krishna Bahadur Mahara has been arrested by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police on Sunday in connection with a gold smuggling case.

According to police, Mahara was detained following fresh instructions from the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), which is currently conducting an inquiry into his alleged involvement in smuggling gold concealed inside electronic cigarettes (vapes) in collaboration with a Chinese organised group.

The former speaker had previously been questioned by the CIAA on Thursday at its Tangāl office. Though Mahara was linked to the case three years ago, he had been freed by both the District Government Attorney’s Office and police during earlier rounds of investigation.

Authorities allege that Mahara, using his political influence, helped facilitate the smuggling of gold through the vape import channel in 2022, a scheme that had earlier led to the arrest of his son, Rahul Mahara, for his suspected involvement.

In March 2024, Mahara was arrested from Kapilvastu and brought to Kathmandu for questioning over the gold smuggling case. He was later remanded to custody by the Kathmandu District Court but was allowed to stay at Norvic Hospital citing health reasons.

The government’s high-level commission, led by former High Court chief judge Dilli Raj Acharya, had earlier accused the CIB of intentionally avoiding a full investigation into Mahara and other senior officials linked to large-scale gold smuggling networks.

Sunday’s arrest marks the resumption of legal action against Mahara, who had long denied wrongdoing and previously avoided prosecution through political protection. The CIB said it will continue the investigation as per the direction of the CIAA.