सम्पत्ति शुद्धीकरण अनुसन्धानमा एमाले उपाध्यक्ष विष्णु पौडेल पक्राउUML Vice-chair Bishnu Poudel arrested in money laundering probe
सम्पत्ति शुद्धीकरण अनुसन्धान विभागले एमाले उपाध्यक्ष विष्णु पौडेललाई सोमबार पक्राउ गरेको छ । पार्टी पुनर्गठनसम्बन्धी कार्यक्रमका लागि सुर्खेत पुगेका पौडेललाई विभागको टोलीले दिउँसो त्यहीँबाट नियन्त्रणमा लिएको हो । पाँच पटकसम्म अर्थमन्त्रीको कुर्सीमा बसेर मुलुकको अर्थतन्त्र हाँकेका पौडेल यसअघि कुनै पनि छानबिनमा यसरी प्रत्यक्ष तानिएका थिएनन् ।
विभागले उनलाई समात्नुअघि ललितपुरको भैंसेपाटीस्थित निवासमा छापा हानेको थियो । उक्त छापाका बेला प्रहरीले उनको घरबाट केही कागजात समेत आफ्नो कब्जामा लिएको विभागनिकट स्रोतले बताएको छ ।
पौडेलले गरेको सेयर लगानी तथा कारोबार र उनको नाममा रहेको सम्पत्तिको स्रोत शंकास्पद देखिएपछि विभागले अनुसन्धान अघि बढाएको हो । राज्यसत्तामा रहँदा विभिन्न व्यापारिक तथा स्वार्थ समूहलाई फाइदा पुग्ने गरी काम गरेको र त्यसको प्रतिफल पछि विभिन्न रूपमा भोग गरेको आरोप उनीमाथि छ ।
अरू व्यक्तिविरुद्ध प्रमाण जुटाउने क्रममा पौडेलसम्बन्धी सूचनासमेत हात परेको र ती व्यक्तिविरुद्ध मुद्दा दायर हुँदा थप अनुसन्धान जारी रहने जानकारी पहिल्यै अदालतलाई दिइसकिएको विभागले जनाएको छ । सोही प्रक्रियाअन्तर्गत बढी अनुसन्धानका लागि उनलाई हिरासतमा लिइएको विभागको भनाइ छ ।
पक्राउपछि पौडेललाई काठमाडौं ल्याएर हिरासतमा राख्ने र मंगलबार म्याद थपका लागि विशेष अदालतमा उपस्थित गराउने तयारी विभागले गरेको छ । हाल सम्पत्ति शुद्धीकरणसम्बन्धी मुद्दाहरू विशेष अदालतमार्फत नै हेरिने व्यवस्था छ ।
सुर्खेत जिल्ला प्रहरी कार्यालयका अनुसार पक्राउ पुर्जी जारी भएलगत्तै पौडेललाई स्थानीय शुभ होटलबाट नियन्त्रणमा लिइएको थियो । होटलबाट उनलाई पहिले जिल्ला प्रहरी कार्यालय पुर्याइयो र त्यहाँबाट सडकमार्ग हुँदै नेपालगन्ज लगिएको छ । मंगलबार बिहान हवाई मार्गबाट उनलाई राजधानी ल्याइने कार्यक्रम रहेको प्रहरीले जनाएको छ । एमालेले अहिले सबै प्रदेशमा पार्टी पुनर्गठनका लागि सुझाव बटुलिरहेको छ र सोही सिलसिलामा पौडेल सुर्खेत पुगेका थिए ।
नेपाली राजनीतिमा पौडेल लामो समयदेखि शक्तिको केन्द्रनजिक रहिआएका अनुहार हुन् । उनी आठ पटक मन्त्री बनिसकेका छन् भने पाँच पटक अर्थमन्त्रीको जिम्मेवारी सम्हालेका छन् । यसमध्ये तीन पटक त उनी उपप्रधानमन्त्रीसमेत रहेर सरकारमा बसे ।
संघीय संसद् सचिवालयको अभिलेखअनुसार पौडेलले २०५३ चैतमा युवा, खेलकुद तथा संस्कृति मन्त्रालयबाट मन्त्रित्वको सुरुवात गरेका थिए । त्यसपछि २०६५ भदौमा जलस्रोत र २०६७ चैतमा रक्षा मन्त्रालयको नेतृत्व सम्हाले । अर्थ मन्त्रालयमा भने उनी पहिलोपटक २०७२ कात्तिकमा पुगे, जुन भूमिकासँग पछि उनको पहिचान नै जोडिन पुग्यो । २०७७ असोजमा दोस्रोपटक अर्थमन्त्री बनेका उनी २०७८ जेठ, २०७९ पुस हुँदै २०८१ असारसम्म आइपुग्दा उपप्रधानमन्त्रीसहित अर्थमन्त्रीको हैसियतमा रहे ।
भदौ २३ र २४ गते भएको जेनजी आन्दोलनका बेला पनि पौडेल अर्थमन्त्रीकै कुर्सीमा थिए । यही आन्दोलनको चापमा तत्कालीन प्रधानमन्त्री केपी शर्मा ओली नेतृत्वको सरकार ढलेको थियो ।
राजनीतिक रूपमा शिखर चढेका पौडेललाई पछिल्लो आम निर्वाचनले भने झड्का दिएको छ । फागुन २१ गते सम्पन्न चुनावमा उनी रूपन्देही–२ बाट पराजित भए र हाल संसद्बाहिर छन् । यो जेनजी आन्दोलनकै पृष्ठभूमिमा भएको चुनाव थियो ।
पौडेलको चुनावी इतिहास भने उतारचढावपूर्ण रहँदै आएको छ । २०५१ सालको मध्यावधि निर्वाचनमा उनी पाल्पाबाट विजयी भएका थिए । तर २०५६ सालमा रूपन्देहीबाट लड्दा नेपाली कांग्रेसका सूर्यप्रसाद प्रधानसँग पराजित भए । देशभर माओवादीको लहर चलेको पहिलो संविधानसभा निर्वाचन (२०६४) मा भने उनले माओवादी उम्मेदवार भक्तिप्रसाद पाण्डेलाई करिब साढे दुई हजार मतान्तरले हराए ।
त्यसयता उनको संसदीय यात्रा निरन्तर रह्यो । २०७० को दोस्रो संविधानसभामा रूपन्देही–४ र २०७४ तथा २०७९ मा रूपन्देही–२ बाट उनी विजयी भए । तर २०८२ को निर्वाचनमा भने सोही रूपन्देही–२ ले उनलाई हराइदियो ।
पौडेल २०३४ सालदेखि कम्युनिस्ट आन्दोलनमा होमिएका नेता हुन् । उनी दोस्रोपटक एमालेको उपाध्यक्ष चुनिएका छन् भने २०७५ जेठ ३ गते तत्कालीन नेपाल कम्युनिस्ट पार्टीको महासचिवसमेत बनेका थिए ।
पछिल्लो चुनावी पराजयपछि एमाले कमजोर बनेको भन्दै पौडेल पार्टी पुनर्गठनको पक्षमा मुखर थिए । अध्यक्ष ओलीले नेतृत्वको जिम्मेवारी छाडेर पार्टीलाई नयाँ ढंगले पुनर्गठन गर्नुपर्ने उनको अडान रहँदै आएको थियो । यसैबीच उनी सम्पत्ति शुद्धीकरणको अनुसन्धानमा तानिएका छन् ।
KATHMANDU — The Department of Money Laundering Investigation on Monday arrested CPN-UML Vice-chair and former finance minister Bishnu Poudel as part of an ongoing money laundering investigation. A team from the department took Poudel into custody in the afternoon in Surkhet, where he had travelled to attend a party programme. Having sat in the finance minister's chair five times and steered the national economy, Poudel had never before been directly pulled into an investigation in this manner.
Before the arrest, the department had raided his residence at Bhaisepati in Lalitpur. Police seized several documents from the house during the search, according to a source close to the department.
The investigation was opened after Poudel's share investments and transactions, along with the sources of property registered in his name, came under suspicion. He is accused of having taken decisions favouring various business and interest groups while in government, and of later benefiting from them in different forms.
The department said it had already informed the court that information about Poudel had surfaced while it was gathering evidence against other individuals, and that further investigation would continue once cases against those individuals were filed. He was taken into custody for that wider investigation, the department said.
Following the arrest, the department plans to bring Poudel to Kathmandu, hold him in custody and produce him before the Special Court on Tuesday to seek an extension of his remand. Money laundering cases are currently heard by the Special Court.
According to the District Police Office in Surkhet, Poudel was taken from the local Shubha Hotel soon after an arrest warrant was issued. He was first taken to the district police office and then driven to Nepalgunj. He is scheduled to be flown to the capital on Tuesday morning, police said. The UML is currently collecting suggestions for party reorganisation across all provinces, and Poudel had gone to Surkhet as part of that effort.
Poudel has long been a figure close to the centre of power in Nepali politics. He has served as a minister eight times and held the finance portfolio on five occasions, three of them as deputy prime minister.
According to records of the Federal Parliament Secretariat, Poudel began his ministerial career as minister for youth, sports and culture in Chaitra 2053. He went on to head the water resources ministry in Bhadau 2065 and the defence ministry in Chaitra 2067. He first reached the finance ministry in Kartik 2072 — a role that would later become central to his political identity. He became finance minister for a second time in Asoj 2077, and from Jeth 2078 through Pus 2079 and Asar 2081 he held the finance portfolio as deputy prime minister.
He was still finance minister during the GenZ protests of Bhadau 23 and 24, which forced the collapse of the government led by then prime minister KP Sharma Oli.
The most recent general election, however, dealt a blow to Poudel's political standing. He was defeated from Rupandehi-2 in the polls held on Falgun 21 and is currently out of parliament. The election was held against the backdrop of the GenZ movement.
Poudel's electoral record has been a mix of wins and losses. He won from Palpa in the 2051 mid-term election but was defeated by the Nepali Congress's Suryaprasad Pradhan when he contested from Rupandehi in 2056. In the first Constituent Assembly election of 2064, held amid a nationwide Maoist wave, he defeated the Maoist candidate Bhakti Prasad Pande by about 2,500 votes.
His parliamentary run continued after that. He won from Rupandehi-4 in the second Constituent Assembly election of 2070, and from Rupandehi-2 in both 2074 and 2079. In 2082, however, the same Rupandehi-2 constituency voted him out.
Poudel has been active in the communist movement since 2034. He is serving his second term as UML vice-chair and was also general secretary of the then Nepal Communist Party from Jeth 3, 2075.
After the party's recent electoral defeat, Poudel had been vocal in favour of reorganising the UML, arguing that it had grown weak. He had maintained that Chairman Oli should step down from the leadership and let the party be restructured. It is amid this that he has now been drawn into the money laundering investigation.
