Nepal panel to probe property, assets of politicians and officials
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Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah gained popularity for his fight against corruption and his reformist credentials.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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KATHMANDU – Nepal’s new government, led by rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, has set up a panel to investigate the property and assets of past and present politicians and officials, a move aimed at controlling corruption in the Himalayan nation.
Mr Shah, 35, became prime minister after his Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) scored a sweeping victory in the March 5 parliamentary election – the country’s first vote after the anti-graft Gen Z protests in September 2025.
During his three-year stint as mayor of Nepal capital Kathmandu, Mr Shah gained popularity for his fight against corruption and reformist credentials. Cabinet spokesperson Sasmit Pokhrel said the five-member panel would be headed by retired Supreme Court judge Rajendra Kumar Bhandari.
“An impartial investigation will be carried out on the basis of evidence based on legal standards… Its report and recommendations will be implemented by concerned agencies of the government,” Mr Pokhrel told reporters after a Cabinet meeting late on April 15 without mentioning the timeframe given to the panel to complete work.
The probe is expected to cover hundreds of politicians and officials who held public offices after the popular movement that led to the abolition of the 239-year-old monarchy in 2008, analysts said.
The three-year-old RSP had made corruption control one of its major promises during the election and scored a comfortable victory over the parties that had dominated politics in the country for decades. REUTERS
