KATHMANDU, JUNE 8
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) today filed cases at the Special Court against 18 individuals, including former Nepal Telecom Managing Director Sunil Poudel and the current Managing Director, then Chief Business Officer, Sangeeta Pahadi.
According to CIAA spokesperson Rajendra Kumar Poudel, the case pertains to alleged irregularities in the billing of services-such as GSM mobile, fiber internet, leased line, wireline, and wireless-arising from illegal procurement and sales activities. The CIAA claims the procurement process was marred by bad faith and involved the misappropriation of public assets.
The Commission has demanded the recovery of NPR 334,817,430 from Poudel, Pahadi, former Chief Technical Officer Pratibha Shrestha, and Financial Officer Rajendra Shrestha.
Additionally, charges have been filed against then Chief Operating Officer Jhabindra Lal Upadhyay, then Director Binita Shrestha, Acting Director Amul Pradhan, Manager Devendra Khatiwada, Deputy Manager Rajiv Kumar KC, Santosh Kumar Shrestha, Nawal Chaudhary, Mukti Prasad Aryal, Hemprabha Rampratap Karna, and Paramatma Bhattarai, with the same amount claimed in restitution.
The Commission has also filed claims for compensation of NPR 334,817,430 against three Chinese supplier companies and their Nepal-based representatives.
The CIAA alleges that a five-year agreement was signed for an integrated billing system with the intention of causing financial loss to the public corporation through collusion.
Spokesperson Poudel stated that a lawsuit has been filed, demanding action commensurate with the losses and damages incurred by Nepal Telecom.
