Nepal’s former Energy Minister arrested in money laundering probe

Nepal’s former Energy Minister Deepak Khadka was arrested on Sunday (March 29, 2026) as part of an investigation into money laundering, police said.

The announcement came a day after ex-Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak were arrested over their alleged roles in a deadly crackdown on anti-corruption protesters in September.

Khadka “was arrested this morning in a case relating to money laundering”, Shiva Kumar Shrestha, spokesman for the Central Investigation Bureau, told AFP.

Nepal’s Department of Money Laundering Investigation will oversee the probe, he said.

Newly appointed Home Affairs Minister wrote on Facebook that Khadka had been “detained today in connection with the investigation of the money recovered from his residence during the 9 September protest”.

The youth-led uprising that month began over a brief social media ban but grew to include longstanding frustration over corruption and economic hardship.

At least 76 people were killed in a crackdown on September 8 and 9, according to an inquiry commission into the violence.

Demonstrators set fire to the parliament building and government offices, and eventually brought down Oli’s administration.

Khadka’s residence was set ablaze, and videos went viral showing protesters throwing cash found in his home up into the air.

Nepalis held elections this month that the Rastriya Swatantra Party won by a landslide.

Its leader, rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, formally took office as prime minister on Friday.

The government unveiled an ambitious 100-point agenda for governance reform on Saturday, including a plan to form an investigation committee to look into the assets of politicians and high-ranking state employees.

The same day, Oli and Lekhak were arrested. A government-backed inquiry commission had previously recommended that Oli and other officials be prosecuted for neglect after not acting to stop security forces from firing on protestors.

Oli and Lekhak have denied ordering forces to open fire on protesters.

pm/mjw