2 weeks ago
Former Nepal PM Deuba returns home after five months abroad
Sher Bahadur Deuba used to be the leader of Nepal, meaning he helped run the whole country.
Five months ago, he went to Singapore, saying he needed a doctor's check-up.
While he was away, police in Nepal wanted to ask him questions about money.
Last year, during protests, people burned a lot of paper cash at his house, which made officials start an investigation.
The police froze his bank accounts and even got a court to say he could be arrested.
But another court later cancelled that arrest order.
Now Deuba has come back home to Kathmandu, where his supporters gave him a big welcome at the airport.
His political party is having an argument about who should be its leader, and that argument is not finished.
Deuba's wife and son are still staying in another country.
Some people are asking who paid for the family's long trip, and Deuba has not explained everything yet.
Former Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba returned to Kathmandu on Thursday, five months after leaving for Singapore, reportedly for a medical check-up.
He was welcomed by a large crowd of supporters and party leaders at Tribhuvan International Airport.
Deuba faces a money-laundering investigation after large amounts of cash were seen being burned by protesters at his residence during the GenZ movement in September last year.
Nepali authorities have frozen his domestic assets and bank accounts, and arrest warrants were issued against Deuba and his wife before the Supreme Court annulled the warrant on May 25.
His return comes as his party faces a possible split, with his faction holding a national gathering while the Supreme Court hears a review of the January convention that elected Gagan Thapa as president.
- Who
- Sher Bahadur Deuba, former Prime Minister of Nepal, along with his wife Arzu Deuba and son Jayabir, who remain abroad.
- What
- Returned home to Kathmandu after five months abroad amid an ongoing money-laundering investigation and a contested party leadership battle.
- Where
- Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, Nepal.
- When
- Thursday, five months after he left Nepal on February 25.
- Why
- His arrest warrant was annulled by the Supreme Court on May 25, and he faces a frozen-asset money-laundering probe plus a factional fight over his party's leadership.
Deuba and his supporters
Authorities and rival faction
Extended stay abroad
Deuba and his supporters
The Deubas left Nepal citing medical treatment, and supporters welcomed Deuba home as a leader facing legal and political challenges.
Authorities and rival faction
Authorities and critics question the unexplained prolonged stay abroad and who financed it, amid the ongoing money-laundering investigation into the family.
Legitimacy of party convention
Deuba and his supporters
Deuba's faction calls the January Special General Convention contested and hopes the Supreme Court will invalidate it, since the party suffered a humiliating defeat in the March 5 elections under Gagan Thapa's leadership.
Authorities and rival faction
Thapa's faction points out the Supreme Court earlier legitimized the convention, allowing the party to contest elections under Thapa's leadership, and criticizes the Deuba faction's efforts to reopen the case.
Key facts
- Subject
- Sher Bahadur Deuba, former Prime Minister of Nepal
- Return location
- Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu
- Time abroad
- Five months (left February 25 for Singapore)
- Investigation
- Money-laundering; domestic assets and bank accounts frozen
- Arrest warrant
- Issued at request of Department of Money Laundering Investigation; annulled by Supreme Court on May 25
- Interpol notice
- Nepal government's Red Corner Notice attempt was unsuccessful
- Party situation
- Contested January convention elected Gagan Thapa as president; review pending before three-judge bench
- Family status
- Wife Arzu Deuba and son Jayabir have not returned home
Quotes
Sher Bahadur Deuba
Former Prime Minister of Nepal
“I am back in my homeland having faithfully served my country for decades and will continue to do so”
thehansindia.com
Sources
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