Kathmandu, 17 Oct: The Department of Money Laundering Investigation has begun probing the movable and immovable properties of three former prime ministers and two former ministers. The investigation targets former prime ministers Sher Bahadur Deuba, KP Sharma Oli, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, as well as former ministers Arzu Rana Deuba and Deepak Khadka, on suspicion of amassing illegal wealth through abuse of public office.
Deuba’s son Jaivir Singh Deuba has also come under investigation. The department has written to the Nepal Rastra Bank, Securities Board of Nepal, and Office of the Company Registrar to collect and submit details about the savings, investments, companies, and transactions under the names of the aforementioned individuals and their relatives.
Similarly, a letter was sent on Thursday to the Department of Land Management and Archives requesting details on their land and property. According to officials, the concerned agencies have begun compiling the requested data.
After receiving the department’s letter, all 77 district land revenue offices were instructed to collect and forward property records, according to an official from the Land Management Department. The central bank has also been asked for details regarding their bank accounts, deposits, jewelry, and financial transactions.
The police have been asked to submit the forensic report of burned banknotes and ashes found at the residences of Deuba, Dahal, and then-minister Khadka on September 9 (Bhadra 24), when protesters stormed and set fire to their homes.
On that day, demonstrators attacked the houses of top political leaders including Congress President Deuba, UML Chair Oli, and Maoist Chair Dahal. Photos and videos showing charred banknotes were circulated from Deuba and Khadka’s residences in Budhanilkantha, while claims of burned money also emerged from Dahal’s residence in Khumaltar.
The department prepared official seizure reports at Deuba and Khadka’s houses on September 21 (Asoj 5) and at Dahal’s on September 23 (Asoj 7). These were sent to the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) for forensic analysis, but the CIB has yet to submit its report to the department.
During money laundering investigations, the department examines the assets, companies, and business transactions of up to three generations of family members, including those from the spouse’s side. Once data from various agencies are received, the department will move to the second phase — questioning the accused individuals.
“Company records, banking transactions, real estate, shares, and lifestyle indicators form the foundation of such probes,” an official said. “After determining these, the investigation proceeds step by step to include all relatives who may have benefited.”
This marks the first time a money laundering investigation has been launched against Deuba, Oli, and Dahal — leaders who have held power for decades. Despite numerous controversies involving public procurement, appointments, transfers, and national assets, none had faced formal investigation until now. The interim government formed after the Gen-Z uprising initiated the probe. The department, which was shifted under the Prime Minister’s Office in 2017 by Oli, has now been brought back under the Finance Ministry by the interim government.
Profiles of the Leaders Under Investigation
Sher Bahadur Deuba, active in politics since 1991 (2048 BS), has continuously held public office. He has won every parliamentary and Constituent Assembly election from Dadeldhura since then, served as Home Minister in Girija Prasad Koirala’s government in 1991, and has been Prime Minister five times — in 1995, 2001, 2004, 2017, and 2021.
His wife, Arzu Rana Deuba, has served as a proportional representation Member of Parliament in 2008, 2013, and 2022, and was Foreign Minister in the government led by Oli before the Gen-Z uprising. On September 9, protesters physically assaulted the Deuba couple at their residence.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda), another former prime minister and Maoist chair, entered parliamentary politics after the 2006 People’s Movement. Since then, he has been prime minister three times. He has long faced allegations of misusing government funds allocated for Maoist combatants during the peace process. Dahal had been residing at the Khumaltar house of controversial businesswoman Sharada Adhikari, which was torched by protesters on September 9.
KP Sharma Oli, a central figure in Nepal’s power politics, first served as Home Minister in the 1994 Manmohan Adhikari-led government, and later as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister in the 2006 Koirala government. He has served as Prime Minister four times — in 2015, 2017, 2020, and 2024.
Oli has been accused of aiding controversial businessmen, selling public assets for negligible prices, and manipulating laws and cabinet decisions to benefit private interests — notably the Giribandhu Tea Estate case in Jhapa, where land originally allocated under special provisions during the Panchayat era was allegedly misused.
Congress leader Deepak Khadka, while serving as Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, was embroiled in controversies over hydropower licenses and contract allocations. He was accused of conducting cheque transactions directly from the minister’s quarters and ministry offices but was never investigated. He was also linked to the misuse of Nepal Scout’s land in Lainchaur. Known as a “key facilitator” for powerful party leaders, his financial sources have remained unexamined.
Root Causes: Corruption and Public Outrage
The Gen-Z movement that overthrew the former government was largely driven by the lack of impartial investigations into corruption and the protection of powerful figures. The main demand of the movement was to combat corruption and ensure accountability.
Since the emergence of the Gen-Z generation (around 1997 AD / 2053 BS), Nepal has witnessed numerous corruption scandals — including the Widebody aircraft purchase, Sudan scam, irregularities in Maoist cantonments, tax evasion frauds, and the misuse of public lands such as Lalita Niwas, Patanjali land, Giribandhu Tea Estate, Tikapur land, Litchi Garden, Bal Mandir, and Bansbari properties.
Other major controversies include the fake Bhutanese refugee scam, visit visa frauds, Omni medical supply case during COVID-19, irregularities in Nepal Trust lands, gold smuggling, cooperative scams, security press procurement, Teramax vehicle deal, excise sticker printing, and Melamchi project corruption — most of which implicated political party leaders.
