KATHMANDU, Dec 12: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) is investigating two former ministers. The CIAA is probing former Minister for Home Ramesh Lekhak for allegedly running an illegal extortion racket targeting Nepalis traveling abroad on visit visas.
Similarly, the anti graft body is also investigating CPN-UML Standing Committee member, former Minister for Communication and Information Technology, and former Koshi Province Chief Minister Sherdhan Rai for allegedly embezzling millions of rupees by preparing DPRs for various projects through his secretariat that were not supposed to be prepared.
“In a diary submitted along with a complaint filed by Chief Officer at the Department of Immigration Tirtha Raj Bhattarai, along with CDR details obtained from Nepal Telecom, it was found that the former home minister’s private secretary Badri Prasad Tiwari and personal aide Janak Bhatta had suspicious communication.
Based on this, it appears that illegal financial transactions may have taken place between the defendant Bhattarai and the then home minister, home secretary, director general of the Department of Immigration, and chief of the Peace, Security and Crime Control Division.
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The CIAA is investigating the involvement of the then home minister, home secretary, division chiefs at the Home Ministry overseeing immigration and administration, private and personal secretaries of the home minister, the home secretary’s secretariat, and other civil servants in sending individuals abroad on visit visas through deliberate collusion,” the CIAA stated in the charge sheet it filed on Thursday concerning visit visa-related corruption.
In Rai’s case, the investigation is being conducted by linking Makhar Khadka, the Bhojpur District Committee chair who served in Rai’s secretariat during his tenure as Koshi Province Chief Minister. “After a complaint was filed at the CIAA regarding DPRs prepared through Finer Engineering Consultancy, which was operated by Khadka’s family relative, the investigation began,” a CIAA source said. The CIAA has not yet summoned Rai or members of his secretariat for statements. Rai has said he is unaware of the issue.
“I have no knowledge about what the CIAA is investigating. Even if someone has filed a complaint, the investigation will proceed, but I have no involvement in the preparation of DPRs for any project during my tenure as chief minister,” he said.
The Office of the Auditor General had previously noted that around Rs 32.09 million had been spent on DPRs since FY 2017/18 and that much of it involved members of Rai’s secretariat. Based on this, a complaint had been filed against Rai. When asked by Nagarik whether the CIAA had summoned him, Rai said: “I have not been called for a statement, nor do I have any information about the complaint. The issue related to the theoretical arrears mentioned by the auditor general has already been settled.”
On October 3, 2024, Bhupendra Rai, the then Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development of Koshi Province, held a press conference alleging large-scale irregularities in DPRs prepared for various projects in the province. Shortly afterward, a complaint was filed against former Chief Minister Sherdhan Rai, a source said. Earlier, the CIAA had quietly filed a case against Bhim Acharya, former Koshi Province Chief Minister and former Tourism Minister, in the Pokhara Regional International Airport corruption case.
Six charged in visit visa case
The CIAA has filed corruption charges against six individuals, including Joint Secretary Tirtharaj Bhattarai, for facilitating human trafficking through the misuse of visit visas at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). On Thursday, the CIAA filed a corruption case against Bhattarai, Section Officer Yagya Aryal, and four others for extorting money from Nepalis traveling abroad on visit visas. Bhattarai, who also served as the TIA immigration chief, had been arrested earlier by the CIAA for questioning.
The CIAA has sought around Rs 7.9 million in restitution from Bhattarai and Rs 500,000 from Aryal. According to a CIAA source, the remaining four individuals charged were middlemen and others involved in the illegal visit visa racket. Immigration officers at TIA have long been accused of extorting money from Nepalis traveling abroad.
Earlier, based on a police investigation, the Kathmandu District Attorney’s Office had filed a case on January 24, 2024, against 22 individuals—including nine immigration officers—on charges of organized crime and forgery. However, a year later, on November 29, 2024, the Kathmandu District Court convicted only the middlemen and travel agency operators, acquitting the officials. Those convicted included Bal Krishna Khadka, chairman of Greenline Holidays; Deepak Bhandari, proprietor of Family Holidays; Greenline operator Ram Khadka; assistant Kabita Paudel; and land broker Khem Subedi.
Bhattarai had previously been charged by the CIAA on February 2, 2016, while he was a joint secretary, for irregularities in the procurement of tents for earthquake victims. Although the CIAA had filed a case against him and five others from the Kathmandu District Development Committee, the Special Court acquitted them, and Bhattarai later returned to service, eventually being promoted to joint secretary in 2020 through internal competition.
