Nepal has been shocked with infamous corruption cases in various eras. Some of the corruption cases have affected the economy, growth and the entire country as a whole. We have compiled these cases from various sources such as yetiyap.com

 

1. Sudan Peace Army Corruption Scandal

The Sudan scam is a famous scandal involving the Nepali police forces going back to 2011. A total of 34 police officials, including three different police chiefs, were implicated in the embezzlement of Rs 29 crores from funds allocated to a UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan. 

 Behind this massive number was a Nepali peacekeeping force that was fulfilling its mission using dilapidated equipment and supplies. This, combined with the fact that the scandal involved Nepal’s security forces, brought a lot of public attention to this case. It was 6 whole years before the 3 Inspector Generals that were behind the scandal were finally incarcerated. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJwblWr7HuY

 

2. The Omni Scandal

The Omni Scandal is one of the darkest corruption scandals in recent years, since it directly affected many lives in the early days of the COVID pandemic. Three months after the first COVID case was detected in Nepal, the government had tendered the Omni business group to procure medical equipment such as PPE kits and rapid testing kits. 

The tender was worth well over $10 million. Omni was able to quickly deliver on the very first stage of orders. However, it was soon discovered that the group had massively overcharged the government on the products. The deliveries themselves were discovered to be of sub-par quality, with many RDT tests later found defective. 

 The company was unable to deliver on the later stages of the tender. With rising questions about the botched tender process as well as Omni’s messy execution of it, the government cancelled the tender and decided to procure medical equipment through the army. After affecting the entire country’s initial response to the global pandemic, Omni group got off with only a one-year blacklist, and nothing more. 

 

3. Gokul Baskota’s Security Printing Press Scandal

The 2020 security printing press scandal is one of the most outrageous incidents of corruption in recent history, because the person involved has escaped all repercussions despite an audio recording of the deal being leaked to the public

In February, 2020, news organizations found themselves with a leaked recording of a phone call. In it, then-Communications Minister Gokul Baskota could be heard negotiating a commission on the government’s purchase of a Swiss security printing press, used to print identity cards and the like. 

Later news uncovered that he initially wanted 2 billion or Rs 2 arba for allowing the deal to go through. He settled for 70% of 70 crores, with the remaining 30% going to the local vendor of the Swiss company.

Baskota continues to brag about his innocence, nearly two years later. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msp69cpbIPw&t

 

4. The Airbus Heist

The Airbus scandal is a long drawnout series of events related to the Nepal Air Corporation and its purchase of two wide-body airplanes. It all started back in 2016, under Prime Minister Oli’s era of ‘pride projects’. A big part of that period involved an overhaul of the country’s aviation sector, which included the arrangement of new air routes for the NAC and also the purchase of two new wide-body aircrafts to fly those routes. 

 The NAC approached aircraft manufacturing company Airbus to purchase two wide-body aircrafts capable of long distance flights. However, a few years later, it came to light that the procurement process for the two planes was littered with irregularities. New steps kept being added to the complicated purchase that were not included in the original Memorandum of Understanding. The NAC chose to purchase two second-hand airplanes from a secondary source despite setting out to buy two new ones directly from Airbus. 

 A lot of big names were implicated, which included the late Aviation Minister Rabindra Adhikari, and then-General Manager of NAC, SugatRatnaKansakar. The whole affair resulted in a loss of Rs. 3.88 billion rupees for the NAC, and nobody has been held accountable.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijwwk2G_O2U

5. The COVID Vaccines Interference

Early on in 2021, Nepal was still in a crucial phase of the battle against COVID-19. Timely procurement of vaccines was becoming crucial in the face of the deadly second wave of the coronavirus. The plan was for the government to purchase additional doses of Covishield from the Serum Institute of India.

But the process was held back by an entire month at a time when each day mattered. The reason? Shadowy agents of the Serum Institute here in Nepal who were demanding a cut of the transaction. The Health Minister at the time, Hridayesh Tripathi, spoke openly about the interference of agents that was putting actual lives at risk.  

If we had managed to get those vaccines on time, it would have mitigated the second wave considerably, and saved many lives. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyD95-E-vDc

 

6. The Loadshedding Deception

Nepalis went through a literal dark age from the years 2006 to 2016. At the peak of winter, citizens endured loadshedding of over 100 hours a week. The Nepal Electricity Authority justified the injustice by explaining that the hydropower plants simply weren’t producing enough power to suffice the country. 

 As it turns out, all of this was a scam of artificial scarcity that allowed the top guns at NEA to take hefty commissions from top companies, in exchange for dedicated power feeders to their factories. 

 The mastermind behind a decade of stifling loadsheddings was Arjun Karki, who was managing director of NEA in 2006.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRImq1cBgGk

It was continued by CEO of NEA, Mukesh Kafle, until KulmanGhising ended the dark age forever. 

 

7.The CIAA Chief That Never Was

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) is a well-known government body. Despite its name, though, or rather because of it, the CIAA itself has been at the center of many corruption cases. 

 One case to remember is that of Raj Narayan Pathak, the CIAA chief that never was. The man was up to be the next chief of the anti-corruption institute back in 2019. Before he could even take the seat, though, Pathak was already lining up revenue sources by name of his soon-to-be powers.

Pathak was forced to give up his imminent promotion when footage of the man negotiating for a large bribe. He was found asking for Rs 1.65 crores from Nepal Engineering College to suppress its case at the CIAA.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAbqSFTXUDM

 

8. The Lalita Niwas Land Grab

The Lalita Niwas scandal is one of the longest-running corruption sagas of this country. At the center of this story is a large plot of government land in Baluwatar, which houses the Prime Minister’s residence, Nepal Rastra Bank, the Chief Justice’s residence, among others. 

Sometime around the year 2000, parts of this land began to be sold off to private citizens, changing hands numerous times. Since this case came to light, many high-profile people have been implicated. Last year, the CIAA filed cases against 175 individuals in relation to this scandal, which also involved three former ministers. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCu1llgg20M&

 

9. The 10 Arba TSC Scandal 

Mr. Chudamani Sharma, a man who was all over the media for getting arrested with a big, obnoxious grin on his face. This man used to be the chief of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) and a member of the Tax Settlement Commission (TSC). 

Back in 2017, he was arrested after an investigation by the CIAA discovered that he had embezzled a staggering 10 arba and 2 crore rupees from the nation’s coffers. He did this by handing out illegal tax exemptions to big industries including Ncell, liquor distilleries, and a variety of other companies. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQhgjxbnRXg

Source: www.yetiyap.com