Former Nepal Telecom chief sentenced to 8.5 years for bribery

Kathmandu – The Special Court has sentenced former Nepal Telecom Managing Director Sunil Paudel to eight years and six months in prison on charges of accepting a bribe.

The bench, comprising Special Court Chairman Sudarshan Dev Bhatt and members Hemant Rawal and Dilliratna Shrestha, convicted Paudel of demanding a bribe from businessman Deepak Anand, sentencing him to eight years in prison.

The court also sentenced businessman Deepak Anand, accused of giving the bribe, to the same eight-year prison term.

Additionally, Paudel received an extra six-month sentence for corruption while holding a high-level government position.

The Special Court did not impose any restitution as the bribe money was not recovered. However, it ruled a fine of 15.4 million rupees each, dividing the alleged bribe amount of 308 million rupees equally between the two.