By Gopal Sharma
KATHMANDU, June 23 (Reuters) – Nepal’s former finance minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel was arrested late on Monday on charges of money laundering, police said, as the country’s Gen Z-backed government steps up a crackdown on alleged corruption under previous administrations.
Paudel, 66, a senior leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) and a key figure in the former K.P. Sharma Oli government, was detained from a hotel in western Nepal, police said.
Police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle said Paudel was being brought to Kathmandu and would be handed over to the Department of Money Laundering Investigation.
His arrest comes months after Oli’s government was toppled following deadly anti-graft protests in which at least 76 people were killed and more than 2,500 injured, with several government buildings, including parliament, set ablaze.
Oli and his home minister were arrested for failing to prevent the violence. Both are now out on bail.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah, a 36-year-old rapper-turned-politician who took office in March after a landslide mandate promising to tackle corruption, has pledged action against past abuses.
Paudel could not be reached for comment. A UML official said senior party leaders would meet on Tuesday to discuss the development.
Paudel has held multiple ministerial posts across successive governments.
(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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