Nepal’s Revenue Investigation Department filed money laundering charges Wednesday against the former executive director of the state-owned Security Printing Centre and his wife, seeking to recover more than 689 million Nepalese rupees (about $4.5 million).
Authorities filed the charge sheet at the Kathmandu District Court against Bikal Paudel, 43, and Alina Basnet. The department alleges the couple misappropriated more than 626 million rupees (about $4.1 million) in foreign exchange transactions, which triggered a separate court case in October 2024.
Prosecutors are seeking a claim of about 611 million rupees (about $4 million) from Paudel and nearly 78 million rupees (about $514,800) from Basnet. Under Nepalese law, authorities are demanding the confiscation of their allegedly illicit assets, proportional prison sentences and fines double the claimed amounts.
The Security Printing Centre produces sensitive government documents, including currency, passports and official certificates.
Paudel is already serving a prison sentence in Kathmandu following a previous corruption conviction. Neither he nor his wife could immediately be reached for comment.
