Kathmandu, 5 April,026.
Shankar Group Chairman Shankar Agarwal has been arrested in connection with an investigation into alleged money laundering linked to suspicious financial transactions between Shankar Group and Infinity Holdings.
Earlier, Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested Infinity Holdings chief Deepak Bhatt from Naxal, Kathmandu. Agarwal was detained the following day and is currently being held at the Lalitpur District Police Office while the investigation continues.
The case emerged after Nepal Rastra Bank’s Financial Information Unit (FIU) detected suspicious transactions between the two parties between 2020 and 2022/23. Reports indicate that in June 2021 around NPR 450 million was transferred from an account of Jagadamba Steel, a Shankar Group company, to Bhatt’s account. Authorities also found unusually large transactions through an overdraft account that had a limit of only NPR 5 million, raising serious regulatory concerns.
Although Nepal Rastra Bank had earlier asked the Department of Money Laundering Investigation to examine the transactions about two and a half years ago, the case initially did not move forward. The investigation was reportedly reopened recently, leading to the latest arrests.
The case has also triggered debate about possible political influence and regulatory weaknesses, as allegations surfaced that certain policy and tax decisions in previous budgets may have favored business interests linked to the group.
Shankar Group is one of Nepal’s major business conglomerates with investments in steel, automobiles, cement, insurance, hydropower, real estate and other sectors. Analysts say the arrest of its chairman could temporarily create uncertainty in the business sector while also increasing scrutiny over corporate financial transactions in Nepal.
