Himal Press 
SURKHET: CPN-UML Vice Chairperson and former finance minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel has been arrested for an investigation into money laundering charges.
A team from the Department of Money Laundering Investigation arrested Paudel on Monday in Birendranagar, Surkhet, while he was attending a party program.
Chief of Karnali Province Police Office, DIG Jayraj Sapkota, confirmed that Paudel was taken into custody for investigation in a money laundering case.
Paudel had arrived in Surkhet on Sunday to attend an internal party review and organizational restructuring program of the UML. Police said he was detained around 5 pm at the Shubh Hotel, where the event was being held.
Karnali police sources say preparations are underway to send him to Kathmandu later today. Authorities are discussing whether to transport him by road or take him to Nepalgunj first and then fly him to Kathmandu.
Before his arrest in Surkhet, the Department of Money Laundering Investigation had raided Paudel’s residence in Bhaisipati, Lalitpur. The team also seized several documents from Paudel’s residence.
Sources at the DoMLI say Paudel is being investigated over suspicious sources of wealth and share transactions. They claim that Paudel has links to controversial businessman Dipak Bhatt, who is already in the custody of the Special Court, pending trail on money laundering charges.
