KATHMANDU: The Special Court has ordered prominent businessmen Deepak Bhatta and Sulav Agrawal to be sent to prison for trial in connection with a massive multi-billion rupee money laundering case.

A bench comprising Special Court Chairman Sudarshandev Bhatta and members Umesh Koirala and Bidur Koirala issued the order on Wednesday, ruling that both individuals must remain in judicial custody until the final verdict is delivered. According to Parbati Hitan, the information officer for the Special Court, the decision to deny bail and mandate custody was taken because the court hearings are actively ongoing.

The high-stakes money laundering case involves a total of 39 defendants, consisting of 34 individuals and five companies. The prosecution has leveled staggering financial claims against the primary accused, demanding a confiscation amount (bigo) of Rs 26.63 billion from Deepak Bhatta and Rs 25.59 billion from Sulav Agrawal.

Additionally, the prosecution has sought Rs 525 million from another high-profile co-defendant, identified as Golchha. The legal action follows a series of police arrests executed earlier this year, with Bhatta being detained on April 2, Agrawal on April 5, and Golchha on April 23.

The charge sheet was formally registered following a comprehensive joint investigation conducted by the Department of Money Laundering Investigation (DMLI) and the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police.

According to the investigative findings, Bhatta artificially inflated his wealth by over Rs 356.8 million during the fiscal year 2017/18 through the revaluation of real estate assets.

Furthermore, the probe revealed suspicious capital injections into Bhatta’s firm, Infinity Holdings Pvt. Ltd., which saw its capital spike by Rs 450 million in the fiscal year 2020/21 and by another Rs 95 million in the fiscal year 2022/23.

Authorities strongly suspect that these massive investments were funded entirely through illicit channels, specifically pointing to the proceeds of banking offenses and the misappropriation of commercial loans.

The legal woes for the accused extend beyond the Special Court; they are currently battling a multi-front legal net, with separate securities and insurance fraud cases pending against them at the Kathmandu District Court, alongside ongoing banking offense cases being looked into by the Patan High Court.