KATHMANDU, May 16: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against former Minister Mohan Basnet, 15 others, and two companies at the Special Court in the Telecommunication Traffic Monitoring and Fraud Control System (TERAMOCS) procurement case.
However, the CIAA has spared Gyanendra Karki, who approved the supplementary budget for the project.
The CIAA filed the case on Thursday, citing a financial loss of over Rs 3.21 billion. With the case now in court, Basnet has been automatically suspended from his position as a Member of Parliament.
The Nepal Telecommunications Authority had submitted its annual program for the fiscal year (2017/18) to the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology for approval. Although the TERAMOCS project was not included in the approved plan, then-Minister Basnet unilaterally decided to implement it, exceeding his jurisdiction.
This unauthorized decision triggered the corruption case. In contrast, Karki, who later approved the supplementary budget, has not been held accountable.
In 2021, after approving the main budget but lacking funds for the contract, the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) requested supplementary budget approval from the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. Then-Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal forwarded the proposal on November 8, 2021, and then-Minister Gyanendra Karki approved it on November 11, 2021. After Karki wrote "approved" on the file, NTA released Rs 700 million from the Rural Telecommunications Development Fund on the same day.
In 2015, when the government planned to install a system to monitor telephone call details and SMS messages, opponents filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court. On February 4, 2016, a bench of Justices Kalyan Shrestha and Devendra Gopal Shrestha issued a mandamus order prohibiting such surveillance. Despite the order, NTA officials continued to push the project forward.
Teramocs Procurement Case: When will Karki and Basnet appear at...
According to the case the CIAA filed at the Special Court on Thursday, former Minister Mohan Basnet carried out 21 actions in the procurement of the TERAMOCS system that violated prevailing laws.
The charge sheet accuses Basnet of abusing his official authority in violation of Section 34(c) of the Nepal Telecommunications Regulations, 1997 (2054 BS). It states that he added a program not proposed by the NTA, interfered with the autonomy granted to the NTA by the Nepal Telecommunications Act, 1996 (2053 BS), and caused institutional harm.
The CIAA claims Basnet initiated the project without conducting a feasibility study, estimating long-term budget needs, or confirming the project's viability. He moved forward without a formal proposal from the NTA, legal or policy frameworks, or any consultation or coordination with stakeholders.
The CIAA further alleges that Basnet failed to identify the funding source and budget heading, define the project timeline, or determine the budget implementation modality. He also neglected to evaluate expected outcomes, seek advice from ministry or authority officials, or conduct any investigation before intervening in the TERAMOCS procurement process.
The CIAA found that the procurement process violated the Public Procurement Act and the Telecommunications Authority Act. It accused officials of deliberately misinterpreting the Request for Proposal (RFP) documents, failing to define technical specifications and operational terms, bypassing the electronic procurement system, and evaluating the letter of intent with malicious intent.
Although the CIAA filed charges against 16 individuals in the TERAMOCS case, it cleared former Minister Gyanendra Karki and former Communication Secretaries Baikuntha Aryal and Mahendra Man Gurung, even after recording their statements.
Former Minister Mohan Basnet initiated the TERAMOCS procurement process, and Minister Gyanendra Karki later signed the procurement agreement. However, the Supreme Court had already ordered officials to proceed with the procurement before Karki's involvement.
On October 6, 2017, the NTA invited international bids, and on December 18, 2018, it selected Venrise Solutions. After receiving complaints about alleged collusion in awarding the contract, the CIAA sent a letter recommending cancellation of the procurement process.
Venrise Solutions then petitioned the Supreme Court, which issued an interim order preventing the cancellation of the contract. A bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana and Justice Dr. Kumar Chudal allowed the procurement process to move forward with an order on April 27, 2021.
At the time, the CIAA found evidence of collusion in the tender process and sent letters to the NTA on December 18, 2018, March 26, 2019, and April 30, 2019, directing it to cancel the procurement process. However, the contracted company filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court, which allowed the procurement to move forward. Then-Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana and Justice Kumar Chudal's joint bench ordered the contract to continue on April 27, 2021, clearing the way for the procurement to proceed.
Audit Committee's Conclusion
As the CIAA neared the final stage of its investigation into allegations of irregularities worth billions of rupees in the TERAMOCS procurement, the Audit Committee also found evidence of corruption. Officials at the Ministry of Communication oversaw the TERAMOCS purchase. During that time, they set the price of a single laptop as high as Rs 6.5 million, which drew the attention of the Department of Customs.
The NTA issued a request for letters of intent on October 6, 2017, to procure TERAMOCS. Local agents of foreign companies competed in the process, and on December 18, 2018, the NTA selected Venrise Solutions. The Audit Committee found collusion between NTA employees and Nepali intermediaries of the contracting company in the tender documents.
Following Supreme Court instructions, Venrise, which operates offices in Lebanon and is registered in Cyprus, imported the Chinese technology for TERAMOCS. The United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on Lebanon regarding "commercial relations." Despite this knowledge, Nepal purchased TERAMOCS through a company based in Lebanon.
Three MPs Suspended
The CIAA filed a case against former minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet at the Special Court, which automatically suspended his parliamentary membership. The CIAA charged Basnet, along with 16 others and two companies, in the TERAMOCS procurement case, triggering his suspension. Basnet, a ruling Congress leader directly elected from Sindhupalchowk, faces corruption charges. Along with him, the parliament suspended the memberships of three former ministers.
The parliament also suspended MP Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, secretary of the UML, who faces criminal charges in the fake Bhutanese refugee case, and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chairperson Rabi Lamichhane, involved in a cooperative fraud case. Authorities currently hold Rayamajhi and Lamichhane in custody awaiting trial. Meanwhile, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) MP Geeta Basnet remains absconding in the same cooperative case.
Although the Special Court convicted Congress MP Tek Bahadur Gurung on corruption charges, the Supreme Court reinstated him in the House of Representatives, and he has resumed participating in parliamentary proceedings. The Special Court had sentenced him in the CIAA case as well.
