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KATHMANDU, Aug 8: Nepal Police has intensified investigations into money laundering cases, with authorities expanding scrutiny of suspected illicit assets linked to fraud, criminal proceeds and other high-risk offences.

Police have launched a money laundering investigation against Abhisek Giri, who was arrested and taken to Morang on Thursday. Giri was initially arrested on June 27 on charges of fraud and criminal breach of trust after being accused of embezzling summer allowance funds distributed to prisoners at Morang Prison.

Police allege that Giri possesses assets that were acquired through illegal means. A court on Friday granted police four days to investigate him on the money laundering charge.

A separate case was filed against Giri on July 30 seeking to recover Rs 213.27 million. He was accused of defrauding that amount in connection with the purchase of a petrol pump. He was released on Rs 500,000 bail in that case before being taken to Morang for investigation into another offence.

The government authorized Nepal Police to investigate money laundering offences through a Cabinet decision on March 25, 2024. Since then, the police have stepped up investigations into cases involving suspected proceeds of crime and unexplained assets.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Avi Narayan Kafle, central spokesperson for Nepal Police, said the force was investigating 25 money laundering cases arising from incidents recorded in the fiscal year 2025/26. A total of 64 suspects have been arrested in connection with those cases, he said.

Police across all districts have now been authorized to investigate and prosecute money laundering offences. According to Kafle, money laundering charges can be pursued when undisclosed assets are linked to illicit transactions, cooperative fraud, cryptocurrency dealings, criminal proceeds and human trafficking, among other offences.

Police filed 15 money laundering cases in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025/26, compared with 13 in the previous fiscal year. Earlier, police had made 78 people defendants in 28 money laundering cases.

The government has assigned Nepal Police a greater role in investigating money laundering offences as part of efforts to secure Nepal’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.

According to police, human trafficking, drug trafficking, hundi transactions, tax evasion, corruption, banking offences, cybercrime and cryptocurrency transactions are among the high-risk predicate offences associated with money laundering. Kafle said police have given such cases high priority as part of efforts to help Nepal exit the FATF grey list.

At its meeting in Paris on February 21, 2025, the FATF placed Nepal under increased monitoring over deficiencies related to money laundering and terrorist financing. Nepal must implement legal reforms, strengthen enforcement and demonstrate effective investigation and prosecution of money laundering and terrorist financing offences by January 2027 to move out of the FATF’s enhanced-monitoring framework.