The Department of Immigration has placed controversial businessman Deepak Bhatta on its watchlist, effectively barring him from international travel as a detailed investigation into alleged money laundering offences gathers pace.

The move, executed on Monday, follows a formal request from the Department of Money Laundering Investigation (DMLI). Officials from both departments confirmed the restriction, noting that the measure was necessary to prevent Bhatta from leaving the territorial jurisdiction during the high-stakes probe.

“Bhatta was blacklisted following the commencement of a detailed investigation into money laundering offences,” a senior official told The Post. “The decision was prompted by a perceived risk of his fleeing the country. He must now get prior government approval should he need to go abroad for any reason.”

Bhatta, the chairman of Infinity Holdings, a company involved in energy, real estate, travel, consumer goods, and government contracts, has long been a lightning rod for controversy in Nepal’s business and political spheres. He is frequently accused of acting as a “power broker”, allegedly leveraging ties with political leadership and senior bureaucracy to secure lucrative public procurement contracts, hydropower licences and seats on regulatory boards.

While the DMLI first brought Bhatta under scrutiny in November 2022 following reports of suspicious financial flows, the probe appeared to stall under the previous administration. However, following the political upheavals and governance shifts triggered by the September 2025 Gen Z movement, investigators have dusted off the file.

The scope of the investigation is broad. Bhatta is accused of “influencing” contracts for security force supplies, ranging from rations and uniforms to helicopters and weaponry. The probe also examines his alleged role in the 2022 budget scandal, where “unauthorised persons” were reportedly allowed into the Ministry of Finance to alter tax rates under then minister Janardan Sharma.

The investigation has recently expanded to include the financial dealings of former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his family, who are also under the DMLI scanner for potential links to laundered assets.

Central to the case is a 2022 report from the Nepal Rastra Bank’s Financial Information Unit (FIU). The report flagged a June 2021 transfer of Rs450 million to Bhatta’s personal account at Siddhartha Bank from an account held by Jagdamba Steel at Nepal Investment Bank. Critically, Jagdamba Steel’s audit report for that fiscal year contained no record of such a transaction.

Further irregularities were discovered in Bhatta’s overdraft (OD) accounts. In mid-2021, Bhatta allegedly moved around Rs450 million through a personal account with a standard transaction limit of just Rs5 million. Similarly, an OD account belonging to Infinity Holdings recorded deposits of Rs184.1 million and withdrawals of Rs634.1 million within a single month, far exceeding typical credit norms.

“The preliminary enquiry has provided enough evidence of ‘layering’ and ‘integration’ of illegally earned assets to warrant this detailed investigation,” a source at the DMLI said.

Bhatta’s influence reportedly extended into the regulatory heart of the state. He is linked to the controversial awarding of the Himalayan Reinsurance licence and the appointment of “favourable” individuals to the Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) and the Nepal Insurance Authority.

It was at the behest of a group of businessmen, including Bhatta, that Santosh Narayan Shrestha and Sharad Ojha were appointed as chairmen of Sebon and the Nepal Insurance Authority, respectively. Ojha has already been removed from the post after it was established that his appointment bypassed mandatory qualification criteria. Meanwhile, sources indicate that Sebon Chairman Shrestha is also under investigation by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) and other agencies over allegations of a conflict of interest in his appointment.

His history with high-value procurement is equally extensive. Under Janardan Sharma’s tenure as energy minister, the Rs260 billion Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project was awarded to China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC), for which Bhatta was the local agent, without competitive bidding.

The businessman’s dealings with security agencies have also faced repeated scrutiny. Over a decade ago, a leaked conversation revealed Bhatta attempting to “set” a Rs1.5 billion arms deal with then Deputy Inspector General of Police Rajendra Singh Bhandari. More recently, in 2024, he secured a similar contract to supply weapons to the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force at allegedly inflated prices, a deal that was later halted due to public and political outcry.

As the political landscape continues to shift in early 2026, the DMLI’s current trajectory suggests a rare moment of accountability. In addition to Bhatta, the department is reportedly scrutinising the roles of former prime ministers KP Sharma Oli, Sher Bahadur Deuba and Pushpa Kamal Dahal to determine whether political protection was extended to facilitate the alleged financial crimes.