Fact Check: Viral Claims of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 Note Ban in Nepal are False

Kathmandu. Videos claiming that there is preparation to ban Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in Nepal are going viral on social media. According to the article, Dr. Swarnim Wagle, the leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (Raswapa), and Balen Shah, who is getting ready to take over as prime minister, intend to outlaw high-value notes.

The videos claim that the government led by Sushila Karki had previously prepared to ban the currency notes, but later backed down due to the Nepal Rastra Bank.

However, an investigation by TechPana’s Fact-Check desk has confirmed that the claim is false. So far, the government led by Sushila Karki has done no work related to the note ban, and Raswapa has taken no steps to plan or make decisions on this issue. 

Claim​

On March 17 at 8:18 PM, the Facebook page ‘DNA Khabar’ released a four-minute and nine-second video claiming that the Rastriya Swatantra Party was researching the ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. According to the video, former prime minister Sushila Karki had planned the ban, but it was not implemented due to the Nepal Rastra Bank.

The video caption reads, “Balen to impose restrictions on Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes! Raswapa in study, Sushila Karki had prepared, and it was only after the Rastra Bank intimidated her to roll back.”

In the video, the presenter said:

“Now, it would not be surprising if a ban were imposed on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in Nepal. This is because the powerful government of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, which has nearly a two-thirds majority, is also going to study this issue. One of the reasons behind the rampant corruption in Nepal is believed to be large denominations, and it is suspected that such notes may be stored in the homes of leaders and high-level officials or hidden by illegal businessmen and smugglers.

Experts believe that the economy can only gain momentum if all those notes are made equivalent to pieces of paper. Prime Minister-in-the-making Balendra Shah, who is assembling a powerful government, also intends to go on the offensive to control corruption and boost the economy. Raswapa believes that if people do not see change in the country even after the formation of the new government and if people’s demands for decisive action against corruption are not met, it will never be possible. Dr. Swarnim Wagle, who is almost certain to become the finance minister, also shares the belief that further research is required before demonetizing the 1000 and 500 notes.

But it seems that the plans made by the government led by Sushila Karki also had an impact on the next administration led by Balen. This is due to Prime Minister Karki’s intention to hold elections by imposing a ban on high-denomination currency. Accordingly, studies had also been carried out. However, on the brink of the elections, she withdrew after experts advised that it would lead to major problems. Since the government's priority was to hold the elections and revive the constitution, she backed down.

During the Gen-Z movement, a substantial sum of money at former Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba's house was reportedly burned. Money notes were scattered from Congress leader Deepak Khadka's house. There were rumors that money was also found at Prachanda's house. Following this incident, the Sushila government had directed an advance study on demonetization. However, after the Nepal Rastra Bank presented data that transaction facilities could not be provided after the demonetization of the 1,000 Rs notes, the government became hesitant. In particular, about 70 percent of the notes in circulation were of the 1,000 denomination.

According to a study, there will be almost Rs 490 billion in demand for note exchanges once the Rs 1,000 notes are outlawed. The Nepal Rastra Bank has roughly Rs 5.6 billion worth of notes that could be circulated, and of these notes, the existing stock of notes other than the 1,000 denomination is only about Rs 4.3 billion. Similarly, after the central bank warned that small businesses dependent on cash-based transactions would face a crisis, people would start replacing Nepali rupees with Indian rupees, and a dual currency system could be re-established; Sushila Karki’s government backed down.

In the past, the Nepal Rastra Bank had to withdraw its decision overnight when notes bearing the king's image were demonetized, and similar problems emerged. The central bank claimed that the entire economy would be in crisis until new notes were issued. Additionally, if political parties did not agree, there would be a risk of large protests, vandalism, and violence, which made the government hesitant. Such incidents have occurred in several countries. Now, the upcoming government led by Balen Shah seems to be taking that risk and proceeding with a plan to eliminate black money by banning high-denomination notes.”

By the time this content was prepared, more than 1.7 million people had watched the video, and more than 102,000 reactions had been received. The video has been shared more than 4,600 times. Watch the original video, the recorded video, and the screenshot.

Investigation

The Facebook page ‘Galaxykhabar’ was also found to have posted a video on the night of March 18 at 7:03, saying preparations were being made to ban the 500 and 1,000 currency notes. As of the time this content was prepared, more than 232,000 people had reacted to the video, and it had been viewed more than 5.2 million times.

The video caption reads, “500 and 1000 rupee notes discontinued forever! From tonight at 12 o'clock, 500 and 1000 rupee notes will not be valid! Is the day finally coming when such explosive news, which will instantly turn the black money of those who loot the country's treasury into ashes, will be heard and announced?” Check the video, archive link, and screenshot.

On the morning of March 18 at 8:11, ‘Laligurash Media Network' released video content with a similar claim. A video was posted under the title “Banning 500 and 1000 Currency Notes! Sushila Karki herself had made the preparations.” The video has garnered more than 147,000 views and more than 9,000 comments. Watch the video and the screenshot.

A Facebook page named ‘Trending Kura’ shared a video claiming that 500 and 1,000 rupee notes are going to be banned. The video was shared with the title, “Are 500 and 1000 rupee notes being banned? A sign that black money will turn to ashes overnight!” As of the time this content was prepared, the video had received more than 8,600 reactions and had been viewed more than 239,000 times. See the original video and screenshot.

Similarly, a video titled “Will 500 and 1000 notes be banned now? Balen's big decision is shaking the country! 😱💰” was published on the YouTube channel named ‘Ayush Neupane’.

In the video, it is claimed, as ‘DNA Khabar’ did, that Balen Shah and Swarnim Wagle are planning to ban Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes. The video claims that although the government led by Sushila Karki planned to ban the notes before the elections, they backed down after the Nepal Rastra Bank pointed out that there would be problems with transactions. Watch the video and screenshot.

Khabar Bulletin TV broadcast a video at 10:30 AM on March 20 with the caption “Rs. 500 and 1000 notes banned in Nepal! What about the money buried underground?” More than 2,400 people have reacted to the video so far. Watch the video and screenshot.

A Facebook page named ‘Sathikhabar’ released a video with the title “Aha, Now the Nepali Rs 1000 and Rs 500 Notes are Banned.” In the video, a man expresses happiness, saying that Balen has decided to ban Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes. 

He expressed happiness, saying that in land transactions, there is a tendency to use cash to evade profit and revenue taxes, and that the Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes will be of no use once they are banned. Watch the video and screenshot.

On March 22, 2025, at 9:03 AM, ‘Nepali Rajneeti News’ also released a video claiming that the Rastriya Swatantra Party government is going to permanently ban the Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes. The video was shared under the title “If the Raswapa government is going to permanently ban the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, share it as much as possible.” Watch the video and screenshot.

On social media, other users have also been spreading claims that the Rastriya Swatantra Party government has planned and studied the issue of demonetization, and that the government of Sushila Karki also studied it, but it was not implemented. However, there are no official sources that can confirm these claims. We then attempted to verify whether any credible media sites had released any news on this subject.

We performed a Google advanced search using keywords such as ‘500 and 1000 notes ban’, ‘decision to ban big notes’, ‘Raswapa government note ban’, ‘ban on notes to stop corruption’, ‘plan to ban notes’, etc. During this search, although we found news from various communities demanding the stop of high-value note transactions, there was no reliable news regarding the government's decision/plan, or preparations to ban the notes.

Instead, a fact-check by ‘Nepal Fact Check’ dated 19 March titled “500 and 1000 Rupee Notes Banned? Just Rumors, No Decision” was found in this context. Noting that a claim had gone viral on social media that the soon-to-be-formed government led by the Rastriya Swatantra Party (Raswapa) was preparing to ban Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, there was no official basis to support such claims. 

​After failing to find any material publicly confirming preparations for a note ban in Nepal, we contacted the Nepal Rastra Bank. When asked whether the government led by Sushila Karki had taken any steps regarding the ban on 500 and 1000 notes, Nepal Rastra Bank spokesman Guru Prasad Paudel stated that there had been no such preparations.

He said, “Officially, this is not true; this is wrong. The government has not said or done anything to ban the notes. Even if (the ban) were to be implemented, it does not seem like it would be done by making such rumors.”

In the viral claim, it was mentioned that, along with Balen, Rastriya Swatantra Party MP Dr. Swarnim Wagle is also in favor of studying the issue of demonetization. e contacted Dr. Swarnim Wagle for clarification. He responded to TechPana FactCheck via WhatsApp, stating that the Rastriya Swatantra Party has made no decision regarding demonetization after the formation of the government.

After the Gen Z protest, posts went viral on social media claiming that the government had decided to ban Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes in Nepal, stating that banks were looted during the Gen Z movement. Following the spread of that claim, the TechPana Factcheck Desk conducted a fact check. During the investigation for the fact check conducted on 13 September, it was confirmed that false information had been spread at a time when the government had not decided on any note ban. 

Secret demonetization in India

About 10 years ago, the neighboring India banned Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. However, the preparations for making this ban decision were carried out in a very secretive manner.

In 2016, the government of India imposed a ban on the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes by giving only four hours' prior notice.

After the ban, a few days were given to exchange notes up to 250,000 rupees. It was stated that if someone needed to exchange an amount exceeding the limit, tax authorities would investigate the source of the money. If the source could not be disclosed, it was decided that the person would have to pay taxes and a fine of up to 200 percent of the amount. This information is mentioned in a BBC news report titled ‘Why India wiped out 86% of its cash overnight,’ published on November 14, 2016.

According to the international news agency Reuters, the Modi government carried out the decision in a very secretive manner. The plan was kept secret because if people had received prior notice about the demonetization, those with black money could have converted their cash into gold, property, or other assets to hide illegal wealth. Only six senior officials were secretly entrusted with implementing the plan. This information is mentioned in the news published on December 9, 2016, titled ‘Who knew? Modi's black money move kept a closely guarded secret.’

Claim

Preparations are being made to ban Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in Nepal. Raswapa, Balendra Shah, and Dr. Swarnim Wagle are studying this. Earlier, the government led by Sushila Karki had also made such preparations, but backed down due to the Nepal Rastra Bank.

Claimants

Facebook pages ‘DNA Khabar’, ‘Galaxykhabar’, ‘Laligurash Media network’, ‘Trending Kura’, YouTube channel ‘Ayush Neupane’, Facebook pages ‘Khabar Bulletin Tv’, ‘Sathikhabar’,’ Nepali Rajneeti News’, and other social media users.

Facts​

The spokesperson of the Nepal Rastra Bank, Guru Prasad Paudel, has officially stated that this claim is false. He clarified that the government has not had any discussions, made any decisions, or prepared anything regarding the demonetization of notes. Rastriya Swatantra Party leader and MP Dr. Swarnim Wagle also stated that the party has made no decisions regarding the note ban. No official source or reliable news outlet has been found to confirm the claims made in the viral videos.

Earlier, there were also rumors of notes being banned during the ‘Gen Z’ movement. Fact-checking has already verified these as false information. Sensitive decisions like demonetization are carried out secretly; even looking at the example of India, they are not made public on social media beforehand.

Conclusion

The claim that 500 Rs and 1000 Rs notes are about to be banned and that RSP or Balendra Shah is preparing for this is false.

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