Irregularities in MDMS Procurement: Charge sheet filed against 20, including two former chairs of NTA

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NL Today

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Kathmandu: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a case against various employees of the Nepal Telecommunication Authority, including its former chairpersons Digambar Jha and Purushottam Prasad Khanal.

The anti-graft constitutional body lodged the case against them at the special court after uncovering irregularities in the procurement of mobile management system consulting services.

The commission has brought charges amounting to Rs 919.8 million against former chairs Jha and Khanal, senior director Anandraj Khanal, deputy director Meen Prasad Aryal, assistant director Vinod Chandra Shrestha, director Dipesh Acharya, deputy directors Surendra Lal Hada, Surya Prasad Lamichhane, and Achyutanand Mishra, along with assistant directors Revatiram Panth, Sandeep Adhikari, Vijaykumar Rai Yadav, Pratiksha Paudel, and Neerajan Koirala.

Additionally, the commission has demanded the recovery of an additional amount of Rs 232 million 59 thousand from them, based on the exchange rate of the US dollar.

Similar claims have been made against employees of Newmera Eden BHD Malaysia, Kabindra Raj Malla, Director of Namaste Global Common PTE Singapore, among others.

The procurement of the mobile management system was found to have been conducted with malicious intent, without proper confirmation. According to the Commission, the work was carried out without a cost estimation and the bid was accepted, showcasing abnormally high operational costs.

Commission spokesperson Narahari Ghimire said that a case has been filed today, seeking action against the accused.