Police launch money laundering investigation against three former PMs

KATHMANDU: Nepal Police has launched an investigation into the assets of three former prime ministers, two former ministers, and their families.

According to police sources, the probe, initiated based on a letter from the Money Laundering Investigation Department, targets the movable and immovable properties and sources of income of former Prime Ministers Sher Bahadur Deuba, KP Sharma Oli, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, as well as former ministers Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba and Deepak Khadka and their families. The investigation has also extended to Arju Rana’s brother, Bhushan Rana.

On Sunday morning, Nepali Congress leader and former Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Minister Deepak Khadka was arrested at his Budhanilkantha residence by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) under an urgent arrest warrant issued following the MLID’s directive. Preparations are underway to extend his remand in district court.

The investigation follows findings from the September 9, 2025, arson attack, during which burnt currency notes were recovered from the residences of Deuba, Dahal, and Khadka.

The Department subsequently forwarded the case to the CIB for a detailed probe, including former prime ministers previously identified in initial investigations.