Kathmandu, Oct. 10 -- Until September 27, Inam Sapkota had little public profile. His name had never surfaced among those suspected of fixing policy decisions, appointments, or government contracts.

That changed when police examined the mobile phone of former chief justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana, who had been taken to the Valley Crime Investigation Office in Teku. Investigators found repeated calls between Rana and Sapkota and began probing the latter's connections.

"They didn't appear to be related or have any other obvious connection," an officer involved in the investigation said on condition of anonymity. "But the frequency of their calls seemed suspicious."

As the inquiry deepened, police found indications of Sapkota's links with...