The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against 16 individuals, including former minister and Nepali Congress lawmaker Mohan Bahadur Basnet, and two companies alleging irregularities in the procurement of Telecommunication Traffic Monitoring and Fraud Control System (Teramocs) technology for the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA).
The CIAA lodged the corruption case against former communications minister Basnet, the then NTA member and former law secretary Dhanraj Gyawali, 14 other individuals, and two companies at the Special Court on Thursday.
CIAA spokesperson Rajendra Kumar Paudel said that besides Basnet and Gyawali, the CIAA has also filed charges against the then NTA chairmen Digambar Jha and Purushottam Khanal; the then NTA member Tika Prasad Upreti; NTA directors Bijay Kumar Ray, Surendra Lal Hada, and Dipesh Acharya; and NTA deputy directors Revatiram Pantha, Suresh Basnet, Hiranya Prasad Bastakoti, Achyutananda Mishra, and Sandip Adhikari.
Similarly, charges have also been filed against the consultant company Vanrise Solutions and its CEO Jamal Anouti, as well as Connection Trade Link Pvt Ltd and its chairman Dilip Gurung and director Tej Prasad Kharel.
The CIAA has sought Rs 3.22 billion each in damages from the accused.
Following the registration of the corruption case, Basnet’s position as a member of the House of Representatives has been automatically suspended according to Section 17 of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Act.
“In case any person holding a public post is detained by the commission under Section 16 or sub-section (4) of Section 19, such person shall be deemed to have been ipso facto suspended from his/her post for the period of such detention, and if a case has been filed against him/her in the Court under Section 18, he/she shall be deemed to have been so suspended until the case is disposed off. The person so suspended shall be deemed unfit for any post in a government office or public institution or any other post which may cause financial burden to the loan or grant received by the Government of Nepal,” states Section 17 of the Act.
Basnet was elected to the House of Representatives from Sindhupalchowk Constituency No. 2 in the 2022 general election.
The CIAA has concluded that no charges would be filed against former communications ministers Gokul Baskota and Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, as well as former chief secretary Baikuntha Aryal, whose names were also linked to the scam.
Complaints were filed accusing them of committing irregularities by preparing falsified reports favoring unqualified bidders while selecting consultants during the procurement of Teramocs technology for the NTA. They were also accused of misusing and causing losses to the state coffers to set up the Teramocs allowing unauthorized access to citizens' personal data going against a Supreme Court mandamus order in a related writ petition.
The CIAA claims that the then-minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet overstepped his jurisdiction by making unilateral decisions and issuing directives for implementation regarding Teramocs.
The anti-corruption body has accused the then-minister of misusing his official authority by unilaterally including additional programs in the NTA’s budget and plans while the matter was still under consideration and no decision had been made on it. This allegedly caused losses to the NTA. Additionally, the commission has charged that no prior preparations were made for the procurement of Teramocs, no cost estimates were prepared, and no procurement master plan was developed.
Acting on Basnet’s instructions, the then-officials of the NTA colluded to act against the Supreme Court’s order issued on February 04, 2016, and in violation of prevailing laws, causing financial losses to the public entity, said CIAA spokesperson Paudel. The CIAA filed the charge sheet at the Special Court on Thursday as there was sufficient evidence of offenses under Section 17 of the Prevention of Corruption Act against them, Paudel added.
