In a major development exposing high-level political corruption, the Department of Money Laundering Investigation (DMLI) has uncovered a transaction of Rs26 million from controversial businessman Deepak Bhatta to companies owned by Jayabir Deuba, the son of former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.

The financial trail was detailed in an omnibus charge sheet filed by the anti-money laundering body at the Special Court on Thursday. The investigation revealed that the funds were transferred from Bhatta’s firm, Himalayan Asset Management Private Limited, to Scholar International Private Limited and DG Hub Private Limited, both owned by Jayabir. The department has named sixteen defendants, including six individuals and ten corporate entities, in its sweeping money laundering lawsuit.

Government officials confirmed that further scrutiny into the political family’s finances is underway. “We are continuing our investigation into several interconnected transactions, and cannot disclose finer operational details at this stage,” said Uttam Kumar Ghimire, a director and investigating officer at the department.

The charge sheet explicitly notes that the Rs26 million received by Jayabir’s companies is suspected to be the proceeds of financial crimes. Deputy Government Attorney Badri Kumar Karki confirmed that the court filings accurately reflect the initial findings of the probe. “The formal indictment includes these specific findings as documented by the investigating team, though the exhaustive supplemental reports are still being processed,” said Karki.

The DMLI issued a seven-day summons on July 6, pasting a public notice at Jayabir’s residence in Budhanilakantha. A subsequent public notice was published in the Gorkhapatra daily newspaper on July 7 under Section 41 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2008. Investigators revealed that a dedicated team is probing his suspicious real estate investments and asset acquisitions.

“We observed highly unusual patterns in his property acquisitions, which prompted the formal summons for a statement,” said a senior DMLI official. Jayabir, however, remains outside Nepal. Immigration records indicate he departed for Thailand on September 2, 2025, before the Gen Z protests, and intelligence officials suspect he has since slipped into Hong Kong via India.

The widening probe previously targeted former prime minister Deuba and his wife, former foreign minister Arzu Rana Deuba. Although the Kathmandu District Court initially issued arrest warrants against the influential couple, the Supreme Court intervened on May 25. A division bench of Justices Mahesh Sharma Paudel and Nityananda Pandey issued an interim stay order, ruling that the anti-graft body failed to establish adequate grounds for detention.

The Deuba couple, currently residing in Hong Kong after travelling via Singapore for medical treatment, sent a joint petition to the DMLI and the Special Court. In their letter, they maintained their innocence and expressed a willingness to cooperate. “We are fully prepared to assist the investigation upon our return within two months. We request authorities not to frame us as fugitives or disrupt our re-entry into Nepal,” the letter read. They have yet to return.

As part of the same investigation, CPN-UML leader Bishnu Paudel was arrested in Surkhet on June 22 and transported to the capital by public bus. The Special Court has since released him without bail. The DMLI’s indictment seeks recovery of Rs209 million from Paudel, alongside freezing of his bank accounts.

Bhatta has been alleged for his notorious role as an influential corporate broker who successfully manipulated state policy to secure lucrative licences, including a monopoly for Himalayan Reinsurance and seven micro-insurance firms. The DMLI's current indictment confirms it is pursuing international financial intelligence networks to track offshore assets linked to the defendants. Furthermore, the agency is investigating claims that Paudel, during his tenure as finance minister, deliberately altered the Financial Act to grant illicit tax exemptions tailored exclusively to benefit Bhatta’s corporate network.