Kathmandu, June 22: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has concluded that corruption occurred in the printing of electronic passports (MRP) and has filed a corruption case against 16 individuals, including the Director General of the Department of Passports, Tirtha Raj Aryal.
On Monday, the CIAA filed the case at the Special Court against Director General Aryal, Information Technology Director Sunil Kumar KC, former Director Rabindra Raj Bhandari, Accounts Officer Tulsi Prasad Acharya, Computer Engineer Bipin Prasai, former Section Officer Somesh Thapa, former Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Raja Ram Dahal, former Under-Secretary Bhesh Prasad Bhurtel, and former Under-Secretary Pushkar Raj Nepal, among others.
The case has also been filed against Siddhartha Thapa, the Nepal representative of the German company Veridos, and Manindra Raj Malla, the Nepal representative of Muhlbauer.
Alleging collusion and the receipt of unlawful benefits, the CIAA has sought recovery of Rs 10.13 billion from the government officials. It has also demanded compensation of Rs 1.90 billion from Muhlbauer and Rs 8.22 billion from Veridos.
According to the CIAA, serious irregularities and corruption were found from the very beginning of the tender process for passport printing initiated by the Department of Passports. The investigation allegedly revealed collusion between officials and employees of the Department of Passports and representatives of the German supplier companies.
The Commission stated that the accused altered tender conditions and evaluation criteria in violation of the Public Procurement Act and Regulations with the intention of securing unlawful benefits for themselves and causing losses to the Government of Nepal. It further alleged that they evaluated bids contrary to approved standards and facilitated the awarding of contracts to the companies through improper recommendations and decisions.
The CIAA has sought imprisonment, fines, and recovery of damages from the public officials under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2002 (2059 BS). In the case of Director General Aryal, the Commission has additionally sought enhanced punishment on the charge of abusing his official position to commit corruption.
The Commission has also demanded that the foreign companies and their representatives be punished as principal offenders on the grounds that they acted as accomplices who benefited from corrupt practices.
People’s News Monitoring Service.
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