Investigation has begun on two separate charges of revenue fraud and corruption against former minister and Congress leader Deepak Khadka, who has been dragged into a money laundering case. The Money Laundering Investigation Department sent a letter on Friday to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Power and the Revenue Investigation Department to investigate Khadka in detail.

The department has assigned the accused Khadka to the Revenue Investigation Department to conduct further investigation into revenue fraud. Along with this, the Revenue Investigation Department received three-day permission from the Lalitpur District Court on Monday to keep Khadka in custody for investigation.

An official of the Money Laundering Investigation Department told Kantipur, ‘In the case of misuse of public office in the case of preliminary investigation/investigation into the allegations of money laundering, we have written to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority and the Revenue Investigation Department to investigate suspicious transactions and revenue fraud, along with the evidence collected from the investigation/preliminary investigation, to the relevant bodies investigating the relevant offenses.’

The department’s jurisdiction to directly investigate money laundering offenses was reduced by the amendment to the Act two years ago. That is why the department has sent the Authority and the Revenue Investigation Department to investigate undisclosed assets. If a person is found to have laundered money obtained through corruption by investing it in business and property, the corruption offense should first be investigated. The department sends the investigating body to the Authority. Similarly, depending on the nature of the offense, it can send it to the police, revenue department, customs department, forest and other bodies.

Although the department can investigate complaints and complaints filed before 30 Chaitra 2080, in the case of subsequent cases, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2064 provides for the right to investigate and prosecute money laundering only after the body investigating the original crime has filed a case on the basis of facts and evidence.

Section 14A of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2064 states that a letter may be sent to the relevant body investigating the relevant crime or the department itself may form an investigation team to investigate the relevant crime. If a complaint is found while investigating the complaint filed with the department, it is mentioned that it should be sent to another body to investigate the relevant crime. If such a complaint is found, Sub-section 2 of Section 14A states that ‘if it is found during the investigation that a related crime has been committed, a letter shall be sent to the body investigating such crime for investigation.’ Based on this provision, the former minister and Congress leader has been dragged into the investigation of two other bodies.

Based on a letter from the Money Laundering Investigation Department, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the police had taken Khadka into custody from Budhanilkantha on 15 Chaitra. After that, the department conducted a preliminary investigation by obtaining an extension from the District Court, Kathmandu, and found that there was no consistency in the financial transactions made by Khadka and his family members and affiliated companies, the property details submitted while in public office, and the current state of the property, and described it as 'unnatural'. On Friday, a letter was sent to the Authority and the Revenue Investigation Department to investigate the related offense. Along with the letter, Khadka has been sent to the control of the Revenue Investigation Department.

The judicial process, investigation and detention of Khadka, who was kept in the custody of the Revenue Investigation Department, will now be handled by the Lalitpur Court instead of the Kathmandu Court. A complaint was filed against Khadka with the CIAA before the Gen-G movement and an investigation is underway, according to a source. Sources say that since the latest letter from the Money Laundering Investigation Department has also been received, a detailed investigation has been initiated by combining both issues.

Khadka, who was the Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation in the KP Sharma Oli-led government during the Gen-G movement on 24 Bhadra, was the Minister of State for Drinking Water and Sanitation in the coalition government of the Congress and the then CPN-Maoist Center led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Khadka is also a leader involved in business along with politics. However, when examining the property details submitted twice as an MP and twice as a minister, accounts opened for personal and business purposes and related banking transactions, details of taxes paid to the government, shares/ownership of various companies, etc., there was no consistency between the details submitted when he was in public office and the reality, and it was necessary to find a legitimate source for it, and therefore, a situation arose in which an investigation was needed against him on revenue and corruption-related issues, according to a source from the Money Laundering Investigation Department.

Khadka has land, houses and other immovable properties in Kathmandu's Budhanilkantha, Chandragiri and Sankhuwasabha. On 24 Bhadra, Khadka's house in Budhanilkantha was burnt during the Gen-G movement. Videos and photos showing burnt notes in the damaged house were also made public. The Money Laundering Investigation Department reached the damaged house in the first week of Asoj and registered an incident report.

Khadka was involved in various industries/businesses through Land Development Pvt. Ltd. and was brought under investigation after his financial transactions were found suspicious. He was also accused of illegally occupying 7 ropani land and the buildings built on it in Lainchaur of Nepal Scouts and running a business. Since 2065, Khadka had been running a party palace on the Scouts' land. The Khadka administration, which had been occupying the land illegally and even after the lease period expired, was forced to move out in April 2081.

The Jagdulla Hydropower Investment Company had invited bids for the civil and hydromechanical project contract on 20 Jestha 2081. In the contract process, seven companies, including the JV of High Himalayan Hydro and AGE Company, Zhongding International, Patel Engineering, Lama Construction, had applied, but the contract was canceled with the claim that none of the companies had passed the technical proposal.