Nepal’s constitutional anti-graft body, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, has filed a sweeping corruption case at the Special Court against 18 defendants, alleging they rigged the procurement of electronic passports and caused about €58.5 million in losses to the state. The case, lodged on Monday, seeks recovery of that full amount along with fines and prison terms for those convicted.
The defendants span the government and the private sector, covering 10 officials, two German firms that won the passport-printing contract, four of their executives, and two Nepal-based representatives. At the centre is Tirtha Raj Aryal, Director General of the Department of Passports, who faces an additional penalty as department head. Also charged are IT Director Sunil Kumar KC, former directors Shatrudhan Prasad Sharma Pokharel and Rabindra Raj Bhandari, former accounts officer Tulsi Prasad Acharya, computer engineer Bipin Prasai, former section officer Somesh Thapa, and several Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials.
According to CIAA spokesperson Suresh Neupane, investigators concluded that officials and representatives of the German firms Muehlbauer ID Services and Veridos GmbH colluded from the very start of the bidding process to ensure the contract went to those two companies. The charge sheet alleges they altered tender criteria and evaluation standards in breach of procurement law, manipulated technical and financial evaluations, made improper recommendations, signed contracts contrary to legal provisions, and facilitated partial payments.
The claims are split unevenly between the two firms. Veridos, its executives Fabiola Bellersheim and Florian Paquelin, and Nepal agent Siddhartha Thapa face claims of about €47.5 million, while Muehlbauer, executives Gerard Maurer and Pavel Rikis, and representative Manindra Raj Malla face roughly €11 million. The CIAA is also trying to claw back around €1.06 million already disbursed under the contract. This filing is only the first phase, with supplementary inquiries into other individuals and aspects of the procurement still ongoing. The scandal carries a practical sting for ordinary citizens too, since it unfolds amid mounting concern over dwindling passport stocks and uncertainty about future supplies.