Nepal officials arrested in ‘refugee scam’ probe that could impact ties with China, India

Balkrishna Khand was arrested for his role in a scam that duped young Nepalese out of money on the promise they would be sent to the US as refugees from Bhutan

Nepal’s leadership now has the challenge to assuage the concerns of India and China, who have invested heavily in the Himalayan nation’s infrastructure

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Nepal’s ex-home minister, Balkrishna Khand was arrested for his role in a scam that duped young Nepalese out of money on the promise they would be sent to the US as refugees from Bhutan. Photo: Handout

Published: 6:00am, 11 May 2023

Nepal’s police have widened their investigation into a human trafficking scam involving several former senior government officials and politicians.

Police on Wednesday arrested ex-home minister Bal Krishna Khand in connection with the racket involving young people from the Himalayan nation who were sent to the United States as refugees from Bhutan.

Khand’s son is already in custody.

More than 800 people say they were defrauded of millions of rupees by a political-bureaucratic network that promised to issue them fake documents in the name of Bhutanese asylum seekers eligible for resettlement in third countries.

Balkrishna Khand was arrested for his role in a scam that duped young Nepalese out of money on the promise they would be sent to the US as refugees from Bhutan. Photo: Handout

The scam has also turned into a headache for Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal as Khand’s Nepali Congress is one of the main parties propping up his fragile ruling coalition after major ally CPN-UML exited the government over the choice of a new president.