Nepal Police has again written to the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) requesting the issuance of a 'Red Notice' against former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife, former Foreign Minister Arju Rana Deuba.

Earlier, a request was made through Interpol's National Central Bureau (NCB) in Kathmandu to issue a notice against the Deuba couple, but the Interpol Secretariat had asked for more details and sent a message that the 'Red Notice' could not be issued in the current situation. A senior police official informed that the details along with the answers to the questions asked by Interpol were sent to the Secretariat on Thursday.

According to the Money Laundering Investigation Department, Interpol had asked whether there were any other related offenses, stating that an investigation into money laundering was being carried out against the Deuba couple at once. Interpol had also requested some court documents.

The department, however, has sent a statement stating that an investigation is underway into the foreign currency notes found burnt in the Deuba couple's house. Some other documents have also been sent, the department officials have informed. ‘We had sent that information after the Department of Money Laundering Investigation sent a letter from Interpol asking for assistance in issuing a ‘Red Notice,’’ a police officer said. ‘A week ago, we had forwarded it to the department after receiving a message asking for more questions about the crime.’

The department had initially sent a letter to the police requesting them to issue a ‘Red Notice’ without even obtaining an arrest warrant. ‘This is not a case raised by the police. It may be because the department was not aware of it, initially they had only sent a letter asking them to issue a Red Notice,’ the police officer told Kantipur. ‘When it was discovered that no arrest warrant had been issued when they asked for detailed information, the investigation officers finally went to court to obtain an arrest warrant.’ At the request of the department, the Kathmandu District Court had issued an arrest warrant against the Deuba couple on 24 Chaitra.

The government had removed the then head of the Money Laundering Department, Gajendra Thakur, after being dissatisfied with the investigation against the Deuba couple and some other investigations. Nirmal Dhakal is now the head. Security police officials say that preparations are underway to investigate the Deuba couple for other crimes as well.

Although the Deuba couple is currently in Hong Kong, no official details have been made public by the government or Deuba's family. During the incident of 24 Bhadra, which arose from the Gen-G movement of 23 Bhadra, 2082, protesters beat up the Deuba couple at their residence in Budhanilkantha. At that time, the Nepali Army rescued them and took them to the military hospital camp.

After attending the Central Working Committee meeting of the Nepali Congress on 28 Ashokan, the Deuba couple went to Singapore on 10 Kartik for further treatment. After returning, they went to Singapore again. From there, the investigation officers estimate that they reached Hong Kong. An investigation was launched against the Deuba couple for money laundering while they were abroad.

The department had also initiated an investigation against Arju's brother Bhushan Rana. While he was abroad, the department, with the help of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), raided his residence in Jawalakhel on 12 Ashoja and seized some equipment and documents.

The department had also launched an investigation against the Deuba family, former Prime Ministers KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, former Minister Deepak Khadka, and others. Khadka was arrested on 15 Chaitra during the investigation. However, he was released after the Supreme Court, while hearing a writ of habeas corpus filed against the arrest, ordered his release.

Provision that 'Red Notice' will not be issued in political cases

According to Interpol, a 'Red Notice' is a request made to law enforcement agencies around the world to locate a person and temporarily arrest him for extradition or other legal proceedings. However, this is not considered an arrest warrant.

The question of how seriously a ‘red notice’ is given depends on the priority given by the country concerned and its laws. After this ‘notice’ is issued, the member countries of Interpol (193) receive information about the person concerned.

According to the Interpol website, ‘red notices’ are generally issued for fugitives who are wanted for prosecution or punishment for serious crimes such as murder, rape, fraud. ‘If a person is wanted for prosecution, it does not mean that he has been proven guilty and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court,’ the website says.

According to Interpol officials, to issue a ‘red notice’, a form must be submitted stating the name of the suspect, passport details, photo, fingerprints, details of the charges against the person concerned, court documents, a brief description of the accused, possible address, and other matters.

Before issuing a ‘Red Notice’, Interpol analyzes whether it complies with its policy through the ‘Notice and Diffusion Task Force’. This includes legal professionals and operational experts along with the police.

‘The task force studies all available information. For example, information obtained from the NCB requesting the notice, other member states and open sources is studied,’ Interpol’s website states. If any notice or diffusion is found to be inconsistent with Interpol’s constitution and rules, the request is canceled.

Article 3 of Interpol’s constitution states that ‘the organization is strictly prohibited from engaging in any intervention or activity of a political, military, religious or ethnic nature’. The Interpol Secretariat refused to issue ‘Red Notices’ against 365 people in 2025, 194 in 2024, 179 in 2023, 229 in 2022, 370 in 2021, and 600 in 2020, citing violations of this provision.