It has come to light that Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife, Arzu Rana Deuba, obtained new passports on Friday, September 19.
A high-level source said that the government had received information about their new passports a few days ago. According to the source, their passports have already been stamped with a Thai visa.
It is believed that the Deuba couple’s passports were burned or lost during the arson and vandalism at their residence in Budhanilkantha on September 9.
The government had also alerted the security mechanism, stating that the Deuba couple might try to go abroad citing treatment or other reasons.
Meanwhile, the Department of Money Laundering Investigation, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police, and the Department of Passports are in discussions about withholding their passports, the source said.
If the Department of Money Laundering Investigation writes to the Department of Passports, their passports could be withheld.
Under Section 12 of the Passport Act 2019, an investigating officer can issue a written request to withhold or suspend the issuance of a passport in cases involving investigations into corruption or money laundering.
A few days ago, a team from the Department of Money Laundering Investigation collected evidence from the Deuba residence. The team visited the residence to investigate after videos surfaced allegedly showing money found at the Deuba residence.
Additionally, a video showing protestors throwing money from the house of former energy minister Deepak Khadka was also made public. Following this, a team from the department visited Khadka’s residence to collect evidence.
