KATHMANDU, May 11: Irregularities have been found in Nepal’s e-bidding system, where 313 contracts were affected after bidders’ confidential documents were allegedly altered.
According to an investigation conducted by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police, evaluation documents submitted by bidders were tampered with, influencing the outcome of contracts.
The CIB stated that rates of 313 contracts were illegally and unlawfully altered through manipulation. After completing the investigation, the CIB submitted its report to the Government Attorney’s Office, which on Friday filed a charge sheet at the Kathmandu District Court. The report states that although it is not possible to confirm exactly which party secured which contract until the tender process is fully finalized, unauthorized access was made to the tender system through computer operators, resulting in changes to bid rates.
Former minister and construction entrepreneur, 74-year-old Bikram Pandey, was also arrested and investigated in the case. He, along with 13 other arrested individuals, gave denial statements during the investigation.
However, despite their denial, the CIB investigation found that access was made using login user IDs of 1,136 bidders involved in different tenders. Based on login details, the CIB initially arrested computer operator Diwakar Deuja and began the investigation. He was arrested on Falgun 28.
Police have arrested 13 individuals so far and submitted the report to the court. Others have been named as absconding defendants.
A complaint was filed at the Cyber Bureau in Bhotahiti, Kathmandu, stating that unauthorized access was made to the e-Government Procurement (e-GP) system of the Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO), and tender details were being altered.
It was reported that documents were being changed before the opening of financial proposals. During the preliminary investigation, it was revealed that this was a large-scale organized crime, and the case was transferred from the Cyber Bureau to the CIB.
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According to the investigation, employee Deuja accessed the system after the bidding deadline, viewed confidential documents, and modified bid proposals by altering rates to ensure his preferred outcome, usually by making his bid the lowest and securing the contract.
For this, he allegedly contacted contractor companies, engaged in bargaining, and after reaching agreements on amounts, altered online bidding data to secure contracts. The CIB report states that Deuja is the main accused.
He allegedly used programming, cloud servers, and PHP to hack the IMS server and create a backdoor access system. He also allegedly created a fake identity named Jeevan Limbu as an operator/manager, contacted contractors via WhatsApp and email, and offered to “fix” contracts, the report states.
Another accused, Bhaskar Raj Aryal, who is also a computer engineer, allegedly used Bitcoin for transactions through a friend based in the United States and settled payments in cash in Nepal, according to police.
The main accused, Deuja, had earlier been arrested on July 20, 2020, for hacking the Nepal Telecom mobile application server system, through which he allegedly misused services and caused financial and reputational damage to the telecom authority.
Who has been charged?
In this e-bidding case, 22 individuals have been made defendants.
Based on the CIB investigation report, the Government Attorney’s Office has filed cases at the Kathmandu District Court against 22 people.
Those charged include Diwakar Deuja, computer operator at Urban Development and Building Construction Office, Dhankuta; 25-year-old Bharat Dhami of Bajhang Durgathali Rural Municipality-3; 39-year-old Sanjay Bhatta, operator of Thumka Construction Service Pvt. Ltd., Tanahun Bandipur; 40-year-old Sagar Katuwal, operator of Katwal Construction and Shivom Suppliers; 35-year-old Bhaskar Katuwal of Kathmandu; 62-year-old Jeevan Kumar Das, operator of Gitanjali Construction, Dubahi; and 39-year-old Anil Shrestha, operator of Shivansh Construction Service.
Similarly, Tank Kumar Shrestha (64), operator of Bhishan Construction; Amrit Bohora (32), operator of Chapur Construction Service; former minister and 74-year-old Bikram Pandey, operator of Kalika Construction; 30-year-old Swadesh Pokharel, operator of Icon Pvt. Ltd.; Prakash Dhungana of Kalpabriksha Builders; and Rishikesh Gauli of Aashish Construction Service have also been charged.
Likewise, Rahul Jung Karki of KBK Construction, Narayan Prasad Sitkhu of Man Construction, Indra Bahadur Bohora of Remit Infrastructure, Shanta Kumar Shrestha of SK Construction, Niranjan Khanal of Dakshinkali All Over, Krishna Bahadur Khatri of Nandi Construction, Jyoti Subedi (procurement officer at Aashish Construction), Saroj Dahal of Chapur Construction and Kalpabriksha, and Sujan Adhikari of Rising Peak have also been charged.
They have been charged with offences including unauthorized access through electronic systems and organized illegal cryptocurrency transactions.
Statement of former minister Bikram Pandey
Former minister Bikram Pandey has stated that he has no personal acquaintance, transaction, or enmity with Keshav Aryal, IMS software company, any employee of the PPMO, or the arrested defendants.
He said he did not know of any unauthorised access to VPS servers used for project testing in Data Hub.
He stated that he was working in the construction sector for the past 50 years and operates Kalika Construction Pvt. Ltd.
He said his company has been repeatedly honored by organizations such as the Asian Development Bank for completing quality work before deadlines and has built a strong reputation in the construction sector. His wife, Parvati Pandey, is also a director of the company but remains inactive.
He said that after government tenders are announced, company staff conduct site visits, studies, evaluations, and internal discussions, and only after the conclusions are reached, bidding is conducted. Once decisions are made, no rate can be changed.
He said his company has a separate e-bidding team that handles submissions before deadlines under his supervision. Government tenders are opened through the official AANB portal, and applications are submitted accordingly.
He mentioned a tender related to the Bakaiya River bridge on Mahendra Highway (IFB No. SRCTP 08/81/82 BS), which was open at the time. His team conducted site visits, evaluations, and internal discussions and fixed an estimated bid of around Rs 670 million, which was submitted under his supervision.
He said no bid modification or discounting was done after submission, and the contract has not been awarded to his company. He also argued that simply lowering a bid does not guarantee a contract award, as the process follows a scientific method.
He said he does not understand why his name has been linked to this case and claimed he does not know of any unauthorized access to AANB systems or IMS servers, as mentioned in the police report.
He added that he believes an organized group may be trying to defame him and has called for a fair investigation into the matter.
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