KATHMANDU: Shambhu Bharati -- agent of the contractor company found involved in the Sudan scam -- has been taken into police custody.

Speaking to THT Online, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shyam Gyawali at the Metropolitan Police Office, Ranipokhari confirmed Bharati's arrest and stated that he will directly be presented before the court today.

Bharati, an agent of Assured Risk Company, was found involved in sending substandard consignments to the Nepal Police team deployed in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Sudan. The court had slapped Bharati with one-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs 142 million. However, he did not serve his sentence and was on the run.

The scam involved embezzlement of money worth millions of rupees while procuring logistics for the Nepal Police personnel deployed in Darfur, Sudan. During procurement of the goods, Rs 284 million had been misappropriated.

The scam also led to the surrender of former inspector generals of the Nepal Police including Shyam Singh Thapa, Om Bikram Rana, Hem Bahadur Gurung, Ramesh Chandra Thakuri, Deepak Kumar Shrestha, Deepak Singh Thangen, who were sentenced to prison in 2017 by the Supreme Court for their involvement in embezzlement of the procurement fund.

In February 2012, the Special Court had convicted them of corruption along with the Armed Personnel Carrier suppliers.