Nepal panel to probe property, assets of politicians and officials

(Reuters)

KATHMANDU, April 16 (Reuters) – Nepal’s new government, led by rapper-turned politician Balendra Shah, has set up a panel ​to investigate the property and assets of past and ‌present politicians and officials, a move aimed at controlling corruption in the Himalayan nation.

Shah, 35, became prime minister after his Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) ​scored a sweeping victory in the March 5 ​parliamentary election – the country’s first vote after the ⁠anti-graft ‘Gen Z” protests last September.

During his three-year stint ​as mayor of Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital city, Shah gained popularity ​for his fight against corruption and reformist credentials.

Sasmit Pokhrel, a cabinet spokesperson, said the five-member panel would be headed by Rajendra Kumar Bhandari, ​a retired Supreme Court judge.

“An impartial investigation will be ​carried out on the basis of evidence based on legal standards … Its ‌report ⁠and recommendations will be implemented by concerned agencies of the government,” Pokhrel told reporters after a cabinet meeting late on Wednesday without mentioning the time frame given ​to the panel ​to complete ⁠work.

The probe is expected to cover hundreds of politicians and officials who held public ​offices after the popular movement that led ​to ⁠the abolition of the 239-year-old monarchy in 2008, analysts said.

The three-year-old RSP had made corruption control one of its ⁠major promises ​during the election and scored ​a comfortable victory over the parties that had dominated politics in the ​country for decadessuffered.