Nepal court orders ex-Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel held for seven days in money laundering probe

Nepal’s Special Court on Tuesday ordered former Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel to remain in judicial custody for seven days following his arrest in an ongoing money laundering investigation, judicial officials said.

The detention of Paudel, the vice chair of the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), marks one of the most high-profile anti-graft actions in the country’s recent history. Paudel, who has served as finance minister five times, is being investigated by the Department of Money Laundering Investigation over his alleged involvement in an illicit asset-laundering case.

The seven-day remand extension order formalizes an emergency arrest warrant sought by investigators to continue their interrogation, according to a statement released by the court branch in Kathmandu.

Local police arrested Paudel late Monday at a hotel in the western district of Surkhet, where he was attending an internal party reorganization event.