The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has registered a corruption case against 55 individuals, including five former ministers, and one Chinese company, alleging irregularities exceeding 8 billion rupees in the construction of Pokhara International Airport.
In the case filed at the Special Court on Sunday, the CIAA has claimed more than 8.36 billion rupees in damages.
The former ministers named in the corruption case are Post Bahadur Bogati, Ram Sharan Mahat, Bhim Acharya, Ram Kumar Shrestha, and Deepak Amatya. Since former minister Bogati has passed away, his wife Ram Maya has been named as a defendant for the purpose of confiscating the claimed damages. Another former minister, Mahat, suffers from Alzheimer's disease and is experiencing memory loss.
Among the accused ministers, Mahat is a former finance minister, while the others are former ministers for tourism and civil aviation.
Pradeep Adhikari, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), has also been implicated in the Pokhara International Airport corruption case. He is already implicated in the corruption case involving the Nalinchowk Heliport in Bhaktapur.
Likewise, former chairman of the Inclusive Commission, Ram Krishna Timilsina, has also been implicated in the corruption case related to the construction of Pokhara International Airport.
