The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on Sunday charged 55 people, including five former tourism and finance ministers, 10 ex-government secretaries and dozens of other high-ranking officials. Also named was China CAMC Engineering, its chairman Wang Bo and regional general manager Liu Shengcheng.
The agency alleges the defendants colluded to inflate construction costs and siphoned off at least US$74 million during the construction of Pokhara International Airport, and is demanding roughly 8 billion rupees (US$55 million) in damages from each.
“The CIAA should have filed the case a long time ago, but it’s doing so now mainly because of the lack of political interference in this interim government,” said Madan Krishna Sharma, president of Transparency International Nepal.
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Nepal’s ‘Gen Z’ revolt sparks PM resignation following deadly anti-corruption protests
Nepal’s ‘Gen Z’ revolt sparks PM resignation following deadly anti-corruption protests
The charges follow a wave of anti-corruption street protests in September that upended Nepal’s political order, ousting a prime minister and eliciting promises of reform. Interim home minister Om Prakash Aryal, who assumed office following the protests, has vowed to reopen cases previously shielded by political patronage.
