CPN-UML vice-chair and former finance minister Bishnu Paudel was arrested on Monday in connection with an ongoing money laundering investigation. The Department of Money Laundering Investigation (DMLI), which has been investigating Paudel, issued an arrest warrant, following which police in Surkhet district in western Nepal took him into custody.

An official involved in the investigation told Kantipur that Paudel was taken into custody for further questioning after being linked to a case involving controversial businessman Deepak Bhatta.

“He was arrested after a businessman involved in Bhatta’s transactions provided a statement implicating Paudel,” the official said. “The former finance minister is alleged to have pressured a businessman to sell shares of a company at a discounted price to Bhatta’s firm. When the businessman asked what benefit he would receive in return, Paudel reportedly assured him of four facilitative actions. Three of those have already been completed, while preparations for the fourth were underway before the Gen Z protest intervened and halted the process.”

Following this, the investigation into disputed share transactions involving Bhatta and the Shanker Group intensified. During the investigation, Bhatta, Shanker Group’s Shanker Agrawal, Vice Chair Sulabh Agrawal, and former president of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries Shekhar Golchha, among other businesspersons, were arrested. The government has already lodged the cases against them.

During the investigation, a businessman who had sold shares cheaply under pressure allegedly linked to Paudel was also drawn into the case. According to sources, that businessman revealed Paudel’s role during his statement, leading to the arrest.

Sources also said Paudel was aware that an investigation was being conducted against him. “While the investigation was ongoing, Paudel began requesting some government officials to protect him, claiming he was not involved in wrongdoing,” the source said. “After reports of possible interference, Prime Minister Balendra Shah, who is in Chitwan attending his party’s general convention, instructed that Paudel be arrested within two hours on Monday.” The DMLI issued the arrest warrants following the prime minister’s directive.

Paudel had arrived in Surkhet on Sunday for an internal UML election review and organisational restructuring programme when a team from the Surkhet District Police Office arrested him.

According to Karnali province DIG Jayaraj Sapkota, Paudel is currently being held at the Surkhet District Police Office. Preparations are underway to transfer him to Kathmandu via Nepalgunj.

Paudel, also UML vice-chair, was appointed minister for the eighth time on 31 July 2024. He has served as finance minister five times and is among UML leaders who have repeatedly held ministerial positions. He first became finance minister in November 2015 and again in October 2020. He served a third term in June 2021, a fourth term in December 2022 as deputy prime minister and finance minister, and most recently in July 2024.

He first became a minister on March 12, 1996, serving as Minister for Youth, Sports and Culture until October 1997. From September 2008 to May 2009, he served as Minister for Water Resources in the first cabinet led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Similarly, in 2010 under the government led by Jhalanath Khanal, he served as defence minister from March 2011 to September 2011. After that, he served as finance minister for five more terms.

Known as a strategic figure in building governing coalitions, Paudel has often secured ministerial positions whether under KP Sharma Oli’s leadership or coalition governments. He became UML vice-chair in the party’s convention held three years ago. Initially elected from Palpa, he has since been elected from Rupandehi.

The UML has expressed serious objection to the arrest claiming it was unlawful. “The UML has always stood firmly in support of the rule of law, good governance, and constitutional principles,” reads the statement issued by Oli. “This is yet another extreme example of the current ruling side’s anti-political, undemocratic, and nakedly retaliatory actions against opposition parties.”

On June 12, cases were filed in three different courts against the Shanker Group, Infinity Holdings, and Himalayan Reinsurance directors, including Deepak Bhatta and Shanker Agrawal, over financial fraud.

In the District Court of Kathmandu, cases were filed against 81 people under securities offences and 42 under insurance offences. In the Special Court, 39 people were charged under money laundering offences, and four were charged in the Patan High Court under banking offences.

Cases have been filed against Shankar Group chair Shanker Lal Agrawal, Vice chairs Sulabh and Sahil Agrawal, and Infinity Holdings chair Bhatta under all four offences. The District Government Attorney’s Office has claimed damages totalling Rs3.73 billion under the Insurance Act and Rs 1.14 billion under the Securities Act.

In the money laundering case filed at the Special Court, 39, including Bhatta and Sulabh Agrawal, have been named as defendants. Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2008, claims include Rs26.63 billion against Bhatta, Rs25.59 billion against Agrawal, and Rs520 million against Shekhar Golchha. Of the 39 defendants, 34 are individuals and five are companies. Because some individuals are charged under multiple offences, the total count of defendants is 86.

Under insurance and securities offences, Shekhar Golchha (chairman and managing director of Golchha Group), Amit Mor (managing director of Lucky Group), Rohit Gupta (vice chair of Ramesh Corp), and Rajbahadur Shah (managing director of Jawalakhel Group of Industries) have also been named as accused. Others include Ashish Shrestha, Siddhant Jhunjhunwala, Latika Golyan, Sumer Shamsher Rana, Shalini Sanghai, Sandeep Chachan, and Shubhi Agrawal. In separate securities-related offences, Nicholas Pandey, Saurabh Dugad, Digambar Jha, Nitesh Malpani, and Jyotiprakash Pandey have also been named.