'Controversial businessman' Deepak Bhatt has been arrested in connection with a money laundering investigation. Based on a letter from the Money Laundering Investigation Department, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police arrested Bhatt from Naxal, Kathmandu on Thursday afternoon. The Kathmandu District Court has granted 10 days' permission to investigate Bhatt in custody for a period of 10 days on Thursday itself.

Even though government agencies tried to investigate him, they were stopped due to pressure from the political level. However, with the coming to power of the new government, Bhatt's file was revived and the investigation was taken forward. Bhatt was under the umbrella of leaders, administrators and high-ranking officials of the ruling and powerful parties for a decade and a half. During this period, he has been accused of manipulating the acquisition of licenses and share purchases of hydropower, insurance, microfinance, travel agencies, and educational institutions. He is also accused of 'lobbying' at the political level to appoint people who are friendly to him in the leadership of regulatory bodies and making decisions to benefit from them. 

Details of Bhatta ordering the preparation of criteria favorable to him in the arms and various public contracts of the security forces and signing contract agreements based on them, and obstructing the process if they failed were made public in the past. According to the concerned officials, he also has influence in the budget preparation process. He is accused of manipulating tax rates in a way that is especially favorable to certain business families. Preliminary investigations have shown that Bhatta acted as a middleman and illegally acquired money, shares and real estate. 

Even though government agencies tried to investigate him, they were stopped due to pressure from the political level. However, with the coming of the new government, Bhatta's file was revived and the investigation was taken forward. 

CIB Chief AIG Manoj KC informed that a detailed investigation has been initiated against Bhatta by the Money Laundering Investigation Department and the CIB has assisted in it. 'A detailed investigation is being conducted against Bhatta for the crime of money laundering, he has been arrested during the investigation. We have also received permission from the court to keep him in custody and conduct the investigation,' he said.

Bhatt had sought a remand from the district court for investigation after the department said that Bhatt had invested the assets he had acquired in the securities market and other sectors in the securities market and other sectors, hiding, deceiving and changing their nature, in violation of Section 140 of the Insurance Act, 2079 BS. On that basis, the bench of District Court Kathmandu Judge Madhav Prasad Subedi extended the remand.

Deepak Bhatt's remand has been extended by 10 days 

The details regarding the extension of the remand have been stated, 'The remand has been extended by 10 days as further statements have been taken, financial information and evidence have been understood, and analysis and other investigative work has been done on the charge of committing the crime of money laundering by committing/inducing prohibited acts under Section 3, Sub-section 1, Clauses A, B, C of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2064 BS.' Director General of the department, Gajendra Thakur, responded that further details could not be disclosed as the matter was under investigation. He said, ‘Investigation is underway, there is nothing else to say.’ The CIB has stated that the statement has already been started with Bhatt. Bhatt, who has set up companies at various levels, is formally the head of ‘Infinity Holdings’. 

He was also active as a local agent in the procurement of lethal and non-lethal equipment and provisions for security agencies by opening a firm in the name of employees working in various companies under Infinity Holdings. Even when there was a ‘deal’ of around Rs 1.5 billion worth of weapons procurement in 2071, the contract was going to be handed over to Bhatt himself, but after the controversy came to light, the government hesitated to proceed with the contract. 

In 2079, Bhatt himself won the weapons contract worth Rs 1.5 billion by transferring the budget for the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force from the Ministry of Finance. But it was not just a game of buying weapons at high prices, but the need was one, the purchase was another, and this dispute also came to the surface. After that, both police organizations were hesitant to proceed with the purchase process as per the agreement with Bhatt. This dispute has not been resolved yet. The CIB has stated that the statement has already been started with Bhatt. Bhatt, who has set up companies at various levels, is formally the head of ‘Infinity Holdings’.

When the government with Sher Bahadur Deuba as Prime Minister and Janardan Sharma as Finance Minister brought a supplementary budget, tax exemptions were granted to benefit only certain companies. After the suspicious activities in the tax exemption, unnatural financial transactions and transactions were seen between Infinity Holdings, headed by Bhatt, and companies under the Shankar Group. During the preparation of the annual budget for 2079, the tax rate was changed at Singha Durbar at midnight. Bhatt's role in that case was also seen as suspicious. After this case came to light, the then Finance Minister Janardan Sharma resigned. 

A parliamentary investigation committee was formed into the tax rate change case. But the committee submitted its report without conducting a thorough study and investigation into the role of the accused Sharma and other suspected individuals. After that, Sharma returned to the ministerial position. After the controversy surfaced, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Nepal Rastra Bank had sent a letter to the Money Laundering Investigation Department to investigate the ‘suspicious transactions’ made through the bank accounts of Bhatt and Shankar Group.

Businessman Deepak Bhatt arrested

According to the details of the letter, Rs 450 million was ‘transferred’ from an account in the name of Jagdamba Steel Pvt. Ltd. at Nepal Investment Bank in June 2021 to an account in Bhatt’s name at Siddhartha Bank. However, in the audit report of Jagdamba Steel for 2077/78, there was no detail of any transaction of Rs 450 million with Bhatt and his company.

It was found that Rs 300 million 1587 thousand was ‘transferred’ to an overdraft (OD) account in the name of Bhatt in June and July 2021, and Rs 450 million 445 thousand was withdrawn from this account at that time. It was revealed that Bhatt had made transactions of up to Rs 450 million in this account, which has a limit of Rs 50 million only for using loans approved by the bank or for repayment. In the OD account of Bhatt's sole proprietorship 'Infinity Holdings', even though the OD limit was 440 million at the same time, 184 million 95 thousand rupees were deposited in July 2021 and 634 million 93 thousand rupees were withdrawn.

During the initial investigation into this case, the department had taken a statement from Bhatt in December 2079. At that time, the Rastra Bank had sent a letter to the department to investigate, saying that the transparency and source of all suspicious transactions had not been revealed. In April 2082, the department returned the investigation to the Rastra Bank itself, ending the investigation. The CIB and department officials informed that the investigation has now been revived and taken forward based on the file that was previously held under pressure.

Bhatt was also involved in suspicious transactions through obtaining Himalaya Re-Insurance licenses and microfinance licenses. It was alleged that the role of businessmen including Bhatt was decisive in introducing 'their people' in the Nepal Securities and Exchange Board of Nepal and Insurance Authority to facilitate his suspicious financial transactions. The appointment of Sharad Ojha, who was not qualified, to the Insurance Authority had reached the court. His appointment has been annulled by the court's decision. 

Bhatta is also accused of being involved in the appointment of Santosh Narayan Shrestha as the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of Nepal. 'All these issues are being investigated against Bhatta on the charge of money laundering, everyone who is involved in this network is under the radar of the investigation,' said an official of the department.   The CIB and department officials informed that the investigation has now been revived based on the file that was previously kept under pressure.

No matter which party comes to power, Bhatta has been getting contracts worth billions with political 'influence'. But the government machinery has been hesitant to investigate his illegal activities. After the Gen-G agitation of 23 and 24 Bhadra, the department had initiated an investigation against top leaders of various political parties and their relatives on the charge of money laundering. During that time, the department had also put Bhatt on the list of suspects. 

Bhatt has also been accused of 'parking' money he earned through illegal means in Nepal in various countries including Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai. He had gone to Thailand on March 4 (20 Falgun) and returned on March 12 (28 Falgun). Before that, he had gone to Singapore on March 2 and returned to Kathmandu the next day. Before that, there is information that he had gone to Hong Kong on August 7, 2025 and returned 4 days later. 

After the investigation progressed, the department had blacklisted Bhatt through the Immigration Department on Monday itself, on suspicion that he might flee abroad, and had barred him from going abroad. The police had also increased their presence at the land border crossing towards India. The CIB arrested Bhatt within three days of being blacklisted based on the department's letter. After the initial investigation, the department had sought the CIB's assistance through the Police Headquarters for a detailed investigation against Bhatt. After that, an investigation has now been initiated against him through the CIB's investigation officer.

Bhatta, who was born on 22 Magh 2037 in Dadeldhura's former Bhadrapur VDC-2 (currently Ajaymeru Rural Municipality), had been a 'beloved character' of power and authority for a decade and a half. Bhatta had been accused of influencing the ruling party, the opposition, the State Affairs Committee and the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament in the past to make laws in his favor and also of interfering in policy matters. Bhatta had 'accepted' that he had played a role in mediating and resolving the dispute in Shrawan 2077 when the dispute between the UML and the then Maoist-led NCP was at its peak. Later, during the Corona period, the KP Sharma Oli-led government granted reinsurance licenses to businessmen including Bhatta to maintain their investments.