Former Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, who has been at the center of politics for nearly six decades and has also been Prime Minister five times, has reached a tragic turning point in his political journey. The government on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant against Deuba and his wife, former Foreign Minister Arju Rana Deuba, for a money laundering investigation. An investigation into money laundering has already begun against the Deuba couple.

The Money Laundering Department has also frozen movable and immovable properties in the name of the Deuba family. With the issuance of the arrest warrant, the Deuba couple has been placed on the fugitive list. ‘The arrest warrant has been issued to initiate the process of issuing red notices to those currently abroad and bringing them to Nepal,’ says an official from the Home Ministry. ‘Now the process of issuing red notices will move forward.’

The arrest warrant has been issued against the Deuba couple based on a letter from the Money Laundering Investigation Department. A bench of Justice Mahendra Bahadur Karki granted permission for the arrest on Tuesday. The Deuba couple had flown to Singapore before the election. On March 13, Deuba and his chief personal secretary and nephew Bhanu Deuba flew to Singapore. Arju, who had gone to Delhi three days earlier, did not return home and went to Singapore from there. Some time ago, his private secretariat had informed that he had left Singapore for Hong Kong.

After the arrest warrant was issued, Deuba, who responded on social media, has not disclosed his current whereabouts. He has informed that he is abroad for medical treatment and is still undergoing treatment. Deuba has claimed that there has been misleading propaganda about his and his family regarding property issues. ‘As per the laws of Nepal, I would like to inform you that while holding public office, we have submitted the actual details of our property to the relevant government bodies,’ Deuba wrote in a status on social media Facebook, ‘I have struggled my entire life for the establishment of a democratic governance system in the country, the rule of law, an independent judiciary, transparency and the belief that the organs of the state should be independent and competent. My life is an open book. The establishment of a democratic governance system, the rule of law  I have struggled my entire life for the belief that governance, an independent judiciary, and transparency should be independent and capable, my life is like an open book.

- Sher Bahadur Deuba, former Prime Minister and former President of the Nepali Congress He also recalled that when he was the Home Minister, he brought the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Act in 2048 BS and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059 BS under his leadership to build a corruption-free society and maintain good governance and transparency. ‘The reality will unfold over time, I appeal to everyone not to be misled by the exaggerated and publicized details,’ he said. Meanwhile, the government is preparing to issue an international ‘red notice’ to arrest him. Nepal is a member state of Interpol, the international police organization. If a person involved in a crime has fled his country to escape investigation and action and has gone abroad, the police of the concerned country can seek the help of Interpol to bring such a person to justice. After that, Interpol issues a 'Red Notice' to search for the fugitive through affiliated countries and 'circularizes' it worldwide. However, a certain process must be completed for the 'Red Notice' to be issued.

According to a police officer involved in criminal investigation, after the body investigating the crime registers a crime against the fugitive in the crime register book, an arrest warrant should be issued against such a person by the court. The arrest warrant was issued against the Deuba couple to complete this process.  Interpol has a provision for the Inspector General of Police from Nepal to be an ex-officio member.

In each country, Interpol makes the head of the police organization investigating crimes in that country the head of the 'National Central Bureau' (NCB). There is a provision that the NCB secretariat of the concerned country can request Interpol to issue various types of notices, including a Red Notice, to search for the fugitive. After examining the details of the letter with the request issued in this way, Interpol issues a notice, if deemed necessary, and circulates it to the NCB secretariats of all member countries to search for the fugitive. Then, the search for the person begins. If such people are arrested, they are returned in coordination with the police of the requesting country. Congress General Secretary Pradeep Poudel has made a public appeal to the Deuba couple to return home and cooperate in the investigation. 

Poudel emphasized that the investigation should be impartial and  independent, and also expressed the view that the Deuba couple should cooperate with the legal process and investigation.  The 'Gen-G' movement of Bhadra 23 and 24 became a tragic turning point in Deuba's political life. The incident of arson at his residence in Budhanilkantha during the movement, which resulted in the burning of a large amount of Nepali and foreign currency, drew his image into serious controversy.

Deuba denied the incident, claiming that the scene was created by AI. However, the investigation that began with that incident has now reached the point of an arrest warrant.  After the Gen-G movement increased pressure from all sides, Deuba announced that he would take a break from the party's executive role from Asoj 28 and handed over the responsibility of acting president to Vice President Purna Bahadur Khadka. However, as politics normalized, he returned to active politics. The move led to a rebellion within the party.

Gagan Thapa became the new president at the special general convention held at Bhrikutimandap on December 10-11. Disappointed by that incident, Deuba went abroad a week before the February 21 election without even voting.  Deuba, who entered politics as a teenager, became the Prime Minister five times. He started active politics through the Nepali Congress around 2020. He became the central president of the Nepali Students' Union at the age of 25. Strengthening organizational politics within the Congress, he became the leader of the parliamentary party and became the Prime Minister for the first time in 2052.

Deuba was 49 years old when he became Prime Minister for the first time. After that, he succeeded in becoming the Prime Minister five times in 2058, 2061, 2074 and 2078. He remained at the center of power during the complex times of parliament dissolution, royal intervention, people's movements and coalition politics. Along with his political achievements, his reign has also been filled with controversies. There has been constant criticism of his weak governance, buying and selling of MPs, making unnatural deals to maintain power, and promoting relations with the king.

In 2059, he returned to power through political equations in the anti-regression movement that began after the then King Gyanendra removed him from office. However, after the king took power again on 19 Magh 2061, widespread questions arose about Deuba's political decision-making ability. Due to weak competition and internal equations within the Congress, he had been kept at the center of power for a long time.