Police Investigating 64 People, Including Abhishek Giri, in Money Laundering Cases

 

Kathmandu: Nepal Police has launched investigations into 25 money laundering cases, with 64 people arrested in connection with the cases, according to the police.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Avinarayan Kafle, spokesperson for Nepal Police, said investigations into 25 money laundering offenses have been underway since fiscal year 2025/26 (2082/83 BS).

The government authorized Nepal Police to investigate money laundering offenses through a Cabinet decision on March 25, 2024 (Chait 12, 2080 BS). Before that, the authority to investigate such offenses rested primarily with the Department of Money Laundering Investigation.

Following the decision, police began investigating money laundering when they discovered unexplained or illegally acquired assets during investigations into other criminal offenses. The department continues to conduct separate investigations specifically related to money laundering.

Abhishek Giri under investigation

Police have also begun a money laundering investigation against Abhishek Giri, who was arrested on charges of fraud and criminal breach of trust.

Giri was arrested in Kathmandu on Thursday and taken to Morang. Police claim they found evidence of illegally acquired assets linked to him. A court granted police an initial four-day remand on Friday to investigate the money laundering allegations.

Giri was previously arrested on June 27, 2026 (Asar 13, 2083 BS) over allegations of misappropriating funds distributed as a summer allowance to inmates at Morang Prison. After 10 days of investigation, the court ordered that he be investigated without keeping him in custody.

However, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested him again the same day on charges of fraud and criminal breach of trust.

A case was filed against Giri at the Kathmandu District Court on July 30, 2026 (Shrawan 14, 2083 BS), alleging fraud in the purchase of a petrol station and seeking damages of Rs 213.276 million. After he was released on bail of Rs 500,000 in that case, he was taken to Morang for investigation into another offense.

Police expanding money laundering investigations

According to DIG Kafle, police can initiate money laundering investigations when unexplained assets are discovered while investigating cases involving illegal lending practices, cooperative fraud, cryptocurrency transactions, criminal proceeds and human trafficking, among others.

Police filed 15 money laundering cases in fiscal year 2025/26, compared with 13 cases in the previous fiscal year. So far, only two of those cases have been decided by the courts.

The Kathmandu and Lalitpur district courts have convicted defendants in both cases that have been concluded.

In 28 previously registered cases, 78 people were named as defendants. Police have claimed Rs 35.4 billion in damages in those cases.

Assets worth billions frozen

Police said they seized Rs 53.53 million in cash from the defendants in the 28 cases. They also confiscated US$900, 350 Chinese yuan, 390 Thai baht, four vehicles and 36 mobile phones.

Assets worth Rs 1.5026 billion, allegedly acquired through illegal means, have also been frozen. Police have frozen 9 ropanis, 15 annas, 3 paisa and 0.7 daam of land, as well as 3.75 million shares.

Bank accounts and digital wallets belonging to the defendants have also been frozen.

Police have claimed Rs 35.4 billion in damages in the 28 cases.

Defendants convicted in two cases

Sunil Rai was convicted by the Lalitpur District Court on January 15, 2026 (Magh 1, 2082 BS) in a case involving betting, virtual currency, forgery and money laundering.

The court sentenced him to three years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 3.399 million. It also ordered him to deposit Rs 135,970 into a victim relief fund and confiscated bank funds totaling Rs 1.66 million, along with a laptop, mobile phone and motorcycle.

In another case in Kathmandu, Chinese national Xiao Yang and Nepali national Rojina Sunar were convicted. According to DIG Kafle, the court sentenced both to eight years and six months in prison and fined each Rs 37.285 million.

The court also ordered the confiscation of Rs 69.85 million in cash, jewelry worth Rs 17.95 million, vehicles valued at Rs 56.4 million and six mobile phones seized from them.

Nepal under pressure to exit FATF ‘gray list’

Nepal Police has intensified money laundering investigations and prosecutions as part of the government's efforts to remove Nepal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) gray list.

Police said they are focusing particularly on high-risk offenses such as human trafficking, drug trafficking, hundi transactions, tax evasion, corruption, banking offenses, cybercrime and cryptocurrency-related activities.

Authorities are also working to freeze, seize and confiscate assets generated through such crimes and bring them under state control.

Nepal was placed on the FATF gray list following a meeting of the global financial crime watchdog in Paris on February 21, 2025 (Falgun 9, 2081 BS), citing risks related to money laundering and terrorist financing.

Nepal, which remains under enhanced monitoring, is expected to demonstrate by January 2027 that it has made legal reforms, effectively implemented those reforms and strengthened investigations and prosecutions against money laundering and terrorist financing.

Nepal had previously been placed on the FATF gray list in 2008 and was removed in 2014 after years of reform efforts.

The country's major money laundering risks include corruption, tax evasion, human trafficking and smuggling, black-market activities, drug trafficking, organized crime, extortion, fraud, banking offenses, currency smuggling, environmental crimes, kidnapping, theft and robbery, forgery, fraud and insider trading.