Accused include former CAAN chiefs, secretary and foreign firms
KATHMANDU, MARCH 22
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption charge sheet at the Special Court in Kathmandu against 21 individuals, including senior government officials and foreign firms, in connection with alleged irregularities during the construction of Pokhara Regional International Airport.
According to a press statement issued by CIAA on Sunday, the accused include former Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Kedar Bahadur Adhikari, former Directors General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Sanjiv Gautam, Rajan Pokharel and Pradeep Adhikari, along with other officials, consultants and representatives of contractor company China CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd. and consultant ERMC/A-not/Slate JV.
The anti-graft body has accused them of causing a loss of over Rs 461.58 million to public property through unlawful decisions, collusion and misuse of funds during the construction of the Pokhara Regional International Airport.
The CIAA said the project, built under the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) model with financial assistance from China Exim Bank, had already allocated a provisional sum of USD 2.8 million within the contract for consultancy services. However, instead of utilizing that provision, officials allegedly initiated a separate procurement process and spent additional funds from CAAN's internal budget.
Investigations found that a consultancy contract worth Rs 428.93 million was awarded to ERMC/A-not/Slate JV, of which over Rs 406.82 million has already been paid, in violation of the contract provisions and public procurement laws.
The CIAA further alleged that the defendants manipulated contract terms and revised price schedules to divert funds. Of the allocated USD 2.8 million for consultancy services, only USD 10,000 was retained for the intended purpose, while the remaining amount was diverted to other expense headings, benefiting the contractor.
The anti-corruption body stated that such actions led to double expenditure, contract violations and deliberate financial mismanagement, resulting in significant loss and misuse of public resources.
The commission has charged the accused under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2002, seeking recovery of the embezzled amount along with legal penalties.
