KATHMANDU, Feb 8: The Special Court has granted permission to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) to detain the suspended managing director of Nepal Telecom, Sunil Paudel, and the suspended executive director of the Security Printing Center, Bikal Paudel, for seven more days. This is the third time that the court has extended their detention.

A week ago, the special court granted permission to the anti-graft body to detain them for the second time for seven days, and the deadline expired on Wednesday. That's why the Special Court allowed the CIAA to detain them for one more week.

A corruption case has already been filed against both of them. In addition to this, a complaint of illegally amassing property was also lodged against the duo.

The CIAA claimed that both of them have opened accounts in foreign banks without the approval of Nepal Rastra Bank. The chargesheet filed by the anti-graft body stated that  the two have been formally appointed as international consultants while still serving for the Government of Nepal.

The CIAA has found evidence that a company called Bancotec in Singapore deposited money in the accounts of the Paudel duo.

According to the details obtained by a high-level source of CIAA, a sum of USD 58,000 was deposited in Sunil's account number 380-9483108 on January 2, 2022.

The CIAA said that Singapore-based Bancotec deposited the amount in his account through Standard Chartered Bank.

Likewise, on December 6, 2021, a company named InstaSafe in the United States deposited USD 77,545 in his account through the Bank of America. 

Similarly, on August 2, 2021, USD 24,995 was deposited in account number 380-9472084 of Bikal Paudel, the suspended executive director of SPC, in the US. On March 24, 2021, Banco Tech deposited USD 50,000 as remittance in his account, sources said.

 
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