KATHMANDU: CPN-UML Vice Chair Bishnu Prasad Paudel has been arrested in connection with a money laundering investigation.
Paudel, who also previously served as deputy prime minister and finance minister, was taken into custody on Monday while in Surkhet to participate in the party’s election review and organisational campaign.
Police said he is currently being held at the District Police Office in Surkhet as authorities continue the investigation.
Sources said a team from the Department of Money Laundering Investigation also carried out a search at Paudel’s residence in Bhaisepati, Lalitpur, following the arrest.
Paudel had travelled to Karnali Province together with senior UML leaders including Ram Bahadur Thapa and Shankar Pokharel as part of the party’s ongoing political campaign.
Authorities are preparing to transfer him to Kathmandu for further investigation.
Paudel had previously been linked to controversy surrounding the purchase of land in the Baluwatar Lalita Niwas land case. Public debate had also followed decisions related to ownership and return of the disputed land, although no legal conclusion from that earlier controversy is included in the current arrest announcement.
The investigation into the money laundering allegation is ongoing, and no formal conviction has been announced at this stage.
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