Nepal, June 25 -- The Supreme Court (SC) has refused to order the immediate release of CPN-UML Vice-Chair and former finance minister Bishnu Paudel, who is currently in custody in connection with a money laundering investigation.

A single bench of Justice Shrikanta Paudel on Thursday issued a show-cause order but did not grant the request for his release.

Paudel was arrested on June 22 in connection with the case. The following day, the Special Court granted authorities permission to keep him in custody for seven days for further investigation.

Seeking his release, Paudel's wife, Domaya Poudel, had filed a habeas corpus petition at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, arguing that his detention was unlawful.

However, the court declined to...