KATHMANDU, JANUARY 13

A serving Nepali Army general has been accused of being involved in a controversial financial deal in the United States of America.

As per documents obtained from diplomatic sources, Brigadier General Madhukar Singh Karki, while working at a military attaché in Nepal's Embassy in Washington DC, had authenticated a document prepared by the embassy to appoint a legal consortium to defend the government against Axiata Investments Limited and Ncell Pvt Ltd in 2020.

Karki had signed a document for the appointment of Foley Hoag LLP, a law firm in Washington DC, and Chhetry and Associates PC, a law firm in New York, as the country's legal consortium by making a payment of $2.3 million to them.

Karki's involvement in the process is not only unwanted but also suspicious. The military code does not allow him to do that, a retired NA general told THT. The Nepali Army can't be involved in financial dealings abroad and Brig Gen Karki's action violates the army's code of ethics, he added.

Nepal's former Ambassador to US Arjun Kumar Karki played a role to appoint Foley Hoag LLP and Chhetry and Associates PC as Nepal's legal consultants after Axiata's UK subsidiary and Ncell filed a request for arbitration with the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), part of the World Bank Group, based in Washington DC, regarding the Capital Gains Tax issues.

'The financial deal of US$2.3 million by Nepal's embassy in Washington DC was made without following the country's public procurement rules,' said an officer at the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs.

It was surprising to see a military official getting involved in such a controversial deal, the officer added.

The Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives also noted that the appointment of legal advisory firms without following due process was illegal. 'PAC has also been investigating it,' a member of the PAC said.

Ranks and files of the Nepali Army have also been raising their voice against Brig Gen Karki as he was involved in the controversial deal. 'A fair investigation within the organisation is needed to save the image of the Nepali Army,' a senior army officer said.

The case is still pending in ICSID after it was last heard on 3 December 2021, following which the tribunal issued Procedural Order No 9 concerning the organisation of the hearing with two arbitrators - Albert Jan Van Den Berg and Paul Friedland.

A version of this article appears in the print on January 14, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.