Nepal Weekly - 2026-06-17

Jun 17, 2026

Nepal business, finance and trade news, every Wednesday.

boats on body of water during daytime — Photo by Meera Pankhania on Unsplash

Three Courts Chase Billions

Prosecutors have filed cases at the Kathmandu District Court, Patan High Court, and the Special Court against executives of the Shanker Group, Infinity Holdings, and Himalayan Reinsurance, in what legal officials say is the first coordinated multi-court financial enforcement action of its kind in Nepal. The defendants include Shanker Group chair Shankerlal Agrawal and his sons Sulav and Sahil, who serve as vice-chairs, Infinity Holdings chair Deepak Bhatta, and Shekhar Golchha, former FNCCI president and former Himalayan Reinsurance chairman. The combined claims total Rs27.80 billion (roughly $183 million), with the majority of that sitting in the money laundering case at the Special Court. Investigators say the group used political influence and manipulated regulations to dominate insurance, securities, and banking before laundering the proceeds.

Record Budget Finds an Empty Bench

Nepal's federal budget for FY 2026/27 clocked in at Rs 212 billion ($1.4 billion), the largest in the country's history, with more than a third of that set aside for energy and a plan to reduce 22 ministries down to 18. On Monday and Tuesday, MPs wandered the House of Representatives hunting for ministers who were supposed to defend their own budgets, and Speaker DP Aryal twice delayed proceedings by 15 minutes waiting for ministers who didn’t bother to show up. Rule 6, Sub-rule 5 of the House Regulations makes ministerial presence mandatory during budget discussions. PM Balendra Shah, who was known for being different from the old political class, was among the absentees, including when the budget for his own office came up. Lawmakers responded by threatening to cut ministry budgets to a single rupee, taking aims at Home affairs, Infrastructure, Law, and Energy.

Read more: myRepublica (ministry consolidation), Spotlight Nepal (energy targets), Ratopati (minister quotes), The Rising Nepal (one-rupee proposals)

Wang Yi Has Notes on Nepal's American Friends

Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal arrived in Beijing on June 14, a week after his New Delhi trip. Wang Yi told Khanal that "distant relatives are not as good as close neighbours," a line for Washington's Millennium Challenge Corporation and State Partnership Programme, which Chinese officials reportedly described as initiatives that "only create trouble for China." Khanal's team reaffirmed the One China Principle and proposed four corridors connecting the northern border to mid-Nepal, including a trans-Himalayan railway, in addition to air routes for Hilsa.

Read more: The Kathmandu Post (Pokhara corruption), Nepali Times (trade imbalance), Internazionale (RSP parliamentary seats), The Kathmandu Post (Wang Yi)

Missing Millions Land Ex-CAAN Chief in Jail

The Special Court sent former CAAN Director General Sanjiv Gautam to prison on June 16, pending trial on charges that he and Pokhara Regional International Airport project director Pradeep Adhikari embezzled Rs 503.44 million ($3.3 million) by inflating costs. Prosecutors say the pair approved a Rs 428.9 million ($2.8 million) contract while leaving a separate $2.8 million in agreed engineering, procurement and construction funds unspent. CAAN has also filed a separate claim that references Rs 89.5 million ($589,000) in losses from Gautam under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2002.

India's Quality Test Strands Nepal's Harvest

Fifty-three orthodox tea factories in Ilam shut down on June 15, and 30 CTC factories in the Tarai are expected to follow on June 18, after India started to enforce border testing for tea exports on May 1. Lab reports take 15 to 20 days, and any shipment that fails can be destroyed or sent back. Indian importers have largely stopped buying as they wait for more clarity. Ilam produces 6.5 million kg of tea every, India takes 90 percent of the orthodox crop.

Read more: myRepublica (farmer), Online Khabar (association VP), myRepublica (diplomatic remedy)

Vaccine Budget Without Vaccines

Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Hospital, Nepal's primary centre for rabies treatment, is seeing more than 500 people a day wanting jabs and expects what's left of its stock to run out within days. The Epidemiology and Disease Control Division has given up trying to buy vaccines after failed procurement attempts and told provincial and local governments to source their own. The government set aside Rs 130 million ($855,000) for anti-rabies vaccines in fiscal 2024-25 and doubled it in 2025-26 because of rising demand, but still missed the procurement window. More than 60,000 Nepalis get anti-rabies shots at government facilities every year, and more than 100 still die of the disease.

Read more: The Kathmandu Post (editorial)

ITBP Chief Drops In Without Knocking

An Indian military helicopter carrying ITBP director-general Shatrujeet Singh Kapoor flew deep into Nepali airspace on June 10, passing directly over homes in the village of Chhangru in ward 1 of Byas Rural Municipality, Darchula. The skies were clear that morning, so any “weather-realted” excuse for skipping the usual route along the Mahakali river doesn’t make sense. Residents poured into the street shouting as the chopper continued toward the Indian military barracks at Gunji in the Kalapani area, where Kapoor was reportedly headed for an inspection.

The Mattress Is Getting Heavy

Nepal's foreign reserves are now $24.19 billion, enough to cover more than 19 months of imports and about three times what's generally considered to be “enough” for an economy of Nepal’s size. The pile isn't government savings, its accumulated remittances in addition to the residue of tight monetary policy from 2022, after a post-pandemic import surge nearly drained the piggy. Banking sector deposits are Rs 7.949 trillion ($52.3 billion), and the current credit-to-deposit ratio is still below 80 percent, so lenders are sitting on loanable funds they can't place.

3,000 Strangers Want an Embassy Job

Nepal's Foreign Ministry threw open 16 ambassadorial posts to public application for the first time ever, and more than 3,000 people raised their hands, dwarfing the response to any normal government vacancy. Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba's ministry is promising a shortlist based on qualifications and experience instead of exam scores. By law, half the slots still must go to serving special-class or first-class Foreign Service officers, leaving the other half for outside experts angling for postings in Delhi, Beijing, Washington, Riyadh, Tokyo, and a dozen other capitals.

BYDs Roll South After Probe Clears Importer

A Finance Ministry probe found no irregularities in the import of 775 BYD electric vehicles seized by the Armed Police Force two weeks ago at the Korala border point, and by Monday most were already rolling toward their destinations. The three-member committee led by Customs Valuation Division Director Bhupal Raj Shakya ran a field inspection in Mustang, Kaski, and Parbat before clearing importer Simon Inc. The APF had earlier taken hold of 649 vehicles that had cleared customs at Nechung.

Read more: The Himalayan Times (seizure breakdown), myRepublica (Leapmotor B10 specs)

Mango Non Grata

India's mango exporters are having a rough season. Nepal now demands that Indian mangoes to be hot-water treated at 48°C for an hour and certified free of high-risk pests before they can come across the border, and Japan has indefinitely suspended fresh Indian mango imports over fumigation lapses at Vapour Heat Treatment facilities. Japan's previous ban on Indian mangoes ran from 1986 to 2006. Delhi says it wasn't consulted on Nepal's new phytosanitary rules and says it will raise the matter through the WTO.

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