Kathmandu – Nepal\u2019s attempt to internationalize its money laundering investigation against former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and former Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba has suffered another setback after Interpol refused for the second time to issue a Red Notice against the couple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to officials familiar with the matter, Interpol returned Nepal Police\u2019s request last week stating that the documents submitted were insufficient to justify an international alert seeking their arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rejection is politically explosive but it also exposes deeper problems not just for the Deuba couple but for Nepal\u2019s investigative institutions themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the center of the controversy is a key contradiction, if Nepal\u2019s authorities believed the case was strong enough to seek an international Red Notice, why has the investigation repeatedly stumbled on procedural grounds inside Nepal itself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier, the Supreme Court of Nepal issued an interim order barring the arrest of Deuba and Rana, questioning the legality of the arrest warrants issued earlier by the Kathmandu District Court. The bench of Justices Mahesh Sharma Paudel and Nityananda Pandey observed that due process may not have been properly followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That matters because Interpol does not function as a political enforcement agency. It requires detailed evidentiary documentation, legal clarity and proof that requests are not politically motivated. A Red Notice is not issued merely because a country asks for one especially in cases involving former heads of government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is where Nepal\u2019s case appears weak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Authorities argue the investigation stems from forensic findings following violent anti-government protests led by the so-called Gen Z movement last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Protesters attacked the Deuba residence, after which videos circulated online showing burnt Nepali and U.S. currency notes. Investigators later claimed forensic analysis of the ashes suggested possible money laundering links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But even within Nepal, that narrative has faced skepticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Critics argue the state may have overreached by escalating a politically sensitive domestic investigation into a global criminal pursuit without first building an airtight legal case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The timeline also complicates the optics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deuba and Rana had left Nepal for medical treatment before the arrest warrants were issued. In his petition to the Supreme Court, Deuba stated he was willing to cooperate with investigators and argued there was no need for arrest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This weakens any immediate argument that the couple were fugitives actively evading justice, a factor Interpol would likely examine carefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, dismissing the investigation outright would also be premature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nepal has long struggled with allegations that politically connected elites remain untouchable, particularly in corruption and financial crime investigations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Public anger toward established political parties did not emerge in a vacuum. The protests reflected years of frustration over impunity, elite privilege and distrust in institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So the bigger question may not be whether Interpol rejected Nepal\u2019s request but why Nepal\u2019s own institutions failed to produce a case robust enough to withstand international scrutiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If investigators genuinely possess credible evidence of money laundering, they will now face pressure to prove that this is more than a politically charged spectacle driven by public anger and social media outrage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And if they cannot, the failed Interpol requests risk backfiring strengthening the Deuba camp\u2019s argument that the investigation is procedurally flawed, politically motivated or legally weak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Kathmandu – Nepal\u2019s attempt to internationalize its money laundering investigation against former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and former Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba has suffered another setback after Interpol refused for the second time to issue a Red Notice against the couple. According to officials familiar with the matter, Interpol returned Nepal Police\u2019s request […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28491,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,5,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking","category-nepal","category-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n