CIAA files corruption case over Pokhara airport foreign loan misuse

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a case alleging corruption in the mobilization of foreign loans during the construction of Pokhara Regional International Airport. The CIAA has submitted a charge sheet to the Special Court against ten individuals, including former Finance Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki and current and former high-ranking officials.

The commission claims that an illegal agreement was made to grant tax exemptions to the Chinese contractor company, China CAMC Engineering, responsible for the airport’s construction, causing a loss of Rs 3.62 billion to the state treasury. According to CIAA spokesperson Ganesh Bahadur Adhikari, the original procurement agreement between the authority and the contractor company clearly stipulated that the contractor should bear the taxes and fees for construction equipment and materials. However, due to the malintent of the then ministers and secretaries, these expenses were paid from the government coffers.

The investigation revealed that the contractor was given double benefits. Following confirmation of extensive misuse of public assets obtained as loans, which added billions in expenses to the state, the CIAA filed charges against high-ranking officials.

The CIAA has named former Finance Secretary Shankar Prasad Adhikari, former Tourism Secretaries Maheshwar Neupane and Suresh Acharya as defendants, along with then Joint Secretaries Kewal Prasad Bhandari and Danduraj Ghimire, former Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority Sanjiv Gautam, Director of the National Pride Project Pradeep Adhikari, Engineer Yogesh Aryal, and staff members Yugraj Pandey and Urmila Bhandari.

Additionally, the commission has named the chairman of the contractor company, Wang Bo, and project manager Yang Zhigang as accomplices in corruption. Previously, the CIAA had filed two cases against dozens, including a former minister, alleging corruption during the construction of Pokhara Airport.