Nepal's Anti-Corruption Drive Snares Former Finance Minister

Nepalese police have arrested former finance minister Bishnu Paudel on money laundering charges, the latest high-profile detention in an anti-corruption drive that toppled the previous government in 2025. Paudel, who was taken into custody on Monday, is also the deputy leader of the Communist CPN-UML party, which was led by former prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli. “The department will investigate his involvement in money laundering,” police spokesperson Abhi Narayan Kafle told AFP. Prime Minister Balendra Shah, a former rapper turned politician, was elected in March on a pledge to stamp out corruption. Oli, who lost his parliamentary seat to Shah, denounced Paudel’s arrest as a “political move” and accused the government of authoritarian behaviour. CPN-UML publicity chief Niraj Acharya said the party would follow the rule of law and its leaders were ready to face any test, but added: “This government has shown discriminatory behaviour. We will fight it.” Oli and his former home minister, Ramesh Lekhak, were detained in March, a day after Shah took office, and questioned over their alleged roles in the violent crackdown on protesters in 2025. They were released after nearly two weeks in custody without being charged and both denied responsibility for the violence. The 2025 protests began as demonstrations against a brief social media ban but escalated, fuelled by public anger over corruption and a sluggish economy. At least 76 people were killed and more than 2,500 injured during two days of violence. In a separate case, Nepal’s anti-corruption watchdog has filed charges against 16 individuals, including the head of the passport department, over an alleged US$66 million procurement fraud. Suresh Neupane, spokesperson for the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, said the case “relates to embezzlement in the procurement of electronic passports.”