Nepal issues arrest warrant for ex-PM Deuba in graft probe

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KATHMANDU: Nepal has issued an arrest warrant for former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba for alleged corruption, officials said on Thursday (Apr 9), making him the latest high-profile figure targeted under the new government.

Deuba, 79, is abroad for medical treatment and said that "an investigation on money laundering has been initiated against me and my family". He rejected the accusation of corruption.

"False propaganda is being spread concerning my family's property," he said in a statement on social media.

Authorities also issued a warrant for Deuba's wife, former foreign minister Arzu Rana Deuba, court officials in Kathmandu told AFP, following a request from the Department of Money Laundering Investigation.

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Deuba said he and his wife were "currently abroad for long-term medical treatment", without giving further details.

Nepali media reported that the couple was recently in Singapore, and that police are seeking an Interpol notice.

The warrants come a month after Prime Minister Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician, won a landslide election victory on a platform of youth-driven political change, the first elections since a deadly September 2025.

Deuba, who served five terms as prime minister, is a senior leader of the Nepali Congress party.

"My life has been an open book," he said. "I have spent my entire life striving for the establishment of a democratic system of governance in Nepal."

His tenure as party president ended in January, after younger members pushed for a leadership change.

Last month, authorities arrested former prime minister KP Sharma Oli and ex-home minister Ramesh Lekhak for their alleged roles in the deadly crackdown on the anti-corruption protests in September.

The youth-led uprising began in Kathmandu and was triggered by a brief social media ban. It spread countrywide the following day, fueled by longstanding frustration over corruption and economic hardship.

Protesters set fire to the parliament building and offices, and eventually toppled the government.

Deuba's home was among the buildings torched, and videos of protesters attacking the couple circulated widely online. Bundles of cash were reportedly discovered at the property.

In his statement to the investigation commission on the protests, Deuba said that videos circulating on social media "must be AI-generated".

"This is a conspiracy, although I do not know who is behind it," he said in his statement.

The commission has recommended further investigation into the cash allegedly found at Deuba's home and other properties.

Former energy minister Deepak Khadka was also arrested last month as part of a money laundering investigation.

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