Nepal Develops Five-Year Strategy to Combat Money Laundering

Nepal has formulated a five-year strategic plan aimed at making substantial improvements in money laundering matters. The strategy is expected to prevent Nepal from being placed under international surveillance for money laundering concerns if implemented effectively.

Recently, Nepal amended its laws related to money laundering and now plans to advance its efforts with the new strategic framework. Experts, however, indicate that implementation remains challenging. Government officials have assured that the included strategies will be effectively executed.

The draft of the strategy was approved with modifications last Wednesday by the Anti-Money Laundering Steering Committee, chaired by Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada. Once approved by the Council of Ministers, it will be implemented. The strategy includes plans to reduce financial crimes such as corruption, tax evasion, hundi transactions, and cryptocurrency dealings.

Although Nepal has amended the necessary laws, several standards remain unmet. The Ministry of Finance has indicated that failure to meet these standards on time could result in Nepal being placed on a watch list. Efforts are ongoing to remove Nepal from the observation list during the upcoming evaluation in October.