CIAA suspects involvement of former Ministers Basnet and Karki along with chief secretary in irregularities during TERAMOX procurement

Published On: November 8, 2023 11:30 AM NPT By: Tapendra Karki

KATHMANDU, Nov 8: The investigation started by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has reached its final stage following complaints of irregularity worth millions of rupees in the purchase of Telecommunication Traffic Monitoring and Fraud Control System (TERAMOX) by the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA).

The anti-graft body started an investigation after receiving a complaint of irregularity of Rs 1.5 billion during the purchase of TERAMOX technology to prevent 'call bypass' and control revenue leakage. Sources claim that the CIAA suspected that financial irregularities amounting to Rs 1.5 billion occurred during the purchase of TERAMOX technology worth Rs 3 billion.

"The investigation has reached its final stage," the CIAA source said. Sources claimed that the incumbent Health and Population Minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet and the former Minister for Communications Gyanendra Bahadur Karki are also involved in the procurement process.

Similarly, current Chief Secretary Baikuntha Aryal, Secretary of the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration Binod Prakash Singh, former Secretary of the Ministry of Communications Mahendra Man Gurung, as well as former NTA Chairman Digambar Jha are also allegedly involved in the irregularities.

Joint Secretary and spokesperson for the CIAA, Bhola Dahal said that he was not aware of the matters related to the investigation. “We will give all the information after the investigation is over. I don't have anything to say on this matter now," he said.

The TERAMOX technology purchase process, which was initiated under their leadership, was completed with the involvement of the Minister of Communications Karki, Secretary of Communications Aryal, and the NTA's Chairman Purushottam Khanal. A source mentioned, "Investigations are ongoing on this matter."

According to sources, the tender specifications were manipulated and the contract was awarded to the Lebanese company Vanrise. The investigation showed that a scam of Rs 1.5 billion was committed in collusion with that company. Worse still, no consideration was made even while buying sensitive technology like TERAMOX from companies based in countries banned by the United Nations Security Council.

Although the procurement process was initiated in the Nepali month of Kartik (mid-October to mid-November) in 2017 when Basnet was the Minister for Communications, the process did not move ahead during the tenure of successive communication ministers including Gokul Baskota, Parwat Gurung and Nainkala Thapa.

It was only after Karki assumed the role of the communications minister that this process was finally completed. A former official from the Ministry of Communications also mentioned that the then Communications Minister Karki was actively involved in this procurement process.

After a tender was issued for the procurement, a legal case was filed in the Supreme Court. Even when the apex court opened the way for the purchase, former Communications Minister Baskota did not show any interest in this deal. Therefore, it has been clarified by sources that Baskota was not actively involved in this process.

In the TERAMOX procurement process, aside from political figures, several officials from the Ministry of Communications were also allegedly involved. These included the then-Secretary of the Ministry of Communications Aryal (currently the chief secretary), the then-deputy secretary of the Ministry of Communications Binod Prakash Singh (now the secretary of the Ministry of General Administration), Under Secretary Mukunda Sharma, Section Officer Durga Lamsal, Chairman of the NTA Khanal, and Deputy Director Achyut Nanda Mishra.

At the same time, the NTA had given directives to halt the procurement process after allegations that the Lebanese company Vanrise had inflated the prices for the TERAMOX technology. Subsequently, when Vanrise's representatives reached the Supreme Court, the then-Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana and Justice Kumar Chudal had issued an order to grant the contract to the same company. At that time, Vanrise, the third highest bid, had been awarded the TERAMOX contract.

Sources claim that Vanrise has secured contracts to purchase similar TERAMOX technology in Congo and Zimbabwe. The petitioners argue that the Lebanese company received a contract for the purchase of TERAMOX technology in Congo, which has a population three times larger than Nepal and has a population of about 100 million, for USD 1.2 million, while Nepal which has a population of 30 million awarded the contract for Rs 23 million more. According to sources, the assessment was conducted, evaluating 80 points for technical and 20 points for economic aspects under the Cost and Quality Based Selection (CQS) method.

Vanrise scored highly in the technical evaluation. Vanrise offered USD 23.77 million, while other companies like Switzerland's SGS proposed USD 24.23 million, Hong Kong's N-Soft proposed USD 22.09 million and Canada's TKC offered USD 11.5 million for TERAMOX technology. Sources say the contract was later awarded to Vanrise with a stipulation that it will be favorable to them.