Kathmandu, December 9

Chief of Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Lokman Singh Karki today said the investigation his office had initiated (against some high profile people) would be completed no matter what consequences he would have to face.

Addressing a programme organised on the occasion of ‘International Anti-corruption Day 2015,’ Karki said what the CIAA had been doing was in line with its policies, country’s laws and norms.

In an oblique reference to CIAA’s recent decision to quiz some high profile people, he said, “We have done nothing wrong by seeking the source of somebody’s income.

We have not undermined anybody’s prestige,” he said and added the anti-corruption body had neither arrested anybody nor had it raided anybody’s home till now.

Karki said the CIAA had followed standard procedure to summon some people. “Those who should know about these investigations and those who are in charge of taking decisions about these things are in the know,” Karki said in an oblique response to some recent media reports that suggested that some commissioners of the anti-graft body were not kept in the loop about the ongoing investigation.

Karki said his office never acted with ill-intention against anybody.

“We thoroughly probe the cases and we file the cases in court only after we have enough ground for it,” he added.

Stating that most of the individual complaints filed at the CIAA lacked evidences, Karki said his office field 303 cases in one year out of 30,000 complaints.

He said the CIAA was criticised for not investigating cases involving VVIPs but his office was not going to spare any guilty person.

Karki urged the media not to write negative things about the anti-corruption body when it did the rights things.

He said the CIAA wanted to live up to the people’s expectations from the anti-corruption body. He said his office alone could not control corruption and other stakeholders also needed to support his office’s action in this regard.

Karki said the government needed to streamline its monitoring process to check corrupt practices and also needed to amend certain laws.

Chief Secretary Somlal Subedi said corrupt practices had weakened the system and paved the way for elitism to flourish.

Stating that the CIAA should promote cooperation with other stakeholders in order to control corruption, the chief secretary said Nepal needed to effectively implement anti-corruption laws and international conventions.