KATHMANDU, May 8: The Special Court has ordered Sunil Paudel, the former managing director of Nepal Telecom, to be imprisoned for nine years and fined Rs 232.7 million in the procurement of the National Payment Gateway System case.

On Tuesday, the joint bench of Special Court President Tek Narayan Kunwar and Murari Babu Shrestha sentenced Paudel to nine years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 232.7 million.

Paudel has been accused of irregularities in the procurement of the  National Payment Gateway System. He was found guilty in the payment gateway case on April 19. After the court's verdict, Paudel was sent to the Dillibazar Prison today.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had lodged a corruption case against Paudel, accusing him of amassing Rs 237.5 million in illegal wealth by misusing his official position.       

In light of his amassed property that is not in proportion to his reported income, the CIAA concluded that there is sufficient evidence to support allegations of illegal wealth acquisition. Paudel was arrested on January 24 and detained for investigation. 

The others getting a clean chit from the Special Court include the then Secretary of Ministry of Science and Technology, and Chairman of National Information Technology Centre Sanjay Sharma, the then Executive Director of National Information Technology Centre Pranita Upadhyay and the then Director of Centre Saphal Shrestha.