KATHMANDU, July 23: The government has entrusted the management and operation of most of the services at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) for 30 years to controversial businessman Deepak Malhotra, who was recommended for action after being repeatedly linked to gold and foreign currency smuggling.
Malhotra's company, IMS Group, operates the parking and arrival hall at the airport. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has awarded the contract to Malhotra's company for 30 years under the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) model.
IMS Airport Services has been entrusted with the construction, management and operation of easy arrival for passengers, vehicle parking area, passenger corridor, passenger waiting room etc. Rasuwa Construction Pvt Ltd, a construction business company, is also linked to it. The owner of Rasuwa Company is lawmaker Mohan Acharya.
In the year 2010, the attention of the security agencies was attracted after the government instructed the CAAN Management Committee to prepare the basis of the agreement by negotiating with the then Rasuwa KD Joint Venture, where Malhotra, Bimal Poddar and Acharya were partners.
Businessman Malhotra’s connection with the TIA is not new; it started before 1998. When Malhotra, who has claimed that he has nothing to do with the smuggling of gold through the TIA and that he is being linked to it unnecessarily, was about to get the contract for management of the airport, the security agencies had repeatedly told the government not to award him the contract, arguing that it would pose a security threat to the TIA.
When in 2010 he submitted a project proposal to build an airport parking lot, a modern park, children's play area, waiting rooms and infrastructure related to airport business, an agreement was signed between the CAAN and Rasuwa KD JV on October 18, 2012. Now, the IAS Services under the same group is managing the external structure of the airport.
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However, the government has entrusted the same businessman Malhotra's company with the external management of the airport for 30 years. The company manages the trolleys used by passengers as they exit the arrival hall. The same company also procures and provides new trolleys with wheel locking systems along with travel letters.
The trolleys without wheel locking system, which are already in use at the TIA, have been taken from the departure hall to the arrival hall and mixed with the new trolleys. The work has been done by the company. Even though the regular work of the company is similar to this, the police and security agencies have been suspecting the involvement of its partners in the larger smuggling from there for a long time.
“In 2010, Deepak Malhotra's company proposed the construction of the airport's external structure. The contract has already been signed in 2012. In August, 2012, SSP Rabi Raj Shrestha of Nepal Police was involved in foreign currency smuggling along with his business partner Murarilal Goyal. The police had prepared to arrest Malhotra but he could not be arrested due to political pressure at that time,” said the sources.
Goyal owned a gold shop in Durbarmarg, with Malhotra as a partner. “In 1998, Malhotra was recommended to be prosecuted under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act. Furthermore, in 2012, it was suggested that the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police investigate a case relating to his involvement.
Later, his name was also linked to the 33 kg gold smuggling case during investigations by the Ministry of Home Affairs. At that time there was no investigation conducted against Malhotra. The investigation is yet to be done but he has strong and good access to the airport. “As he has a good network with government agencies including the head of customs, the head of security, there is ample reason to suspect him as a middleman,” said a high-ranking police source. An official familiar with the investigation mentioned that Malhotra is well-experienced in forming collusion in cases of smuggling.
After Indian gold smuggler Nanda Kumar Pandurang Magar was involved in the smuggling of 88 kg of gold seized by the Kathmandu Valley Crime Division in 2017, the police investigated Malhotra's possible involvement in it. His name was also linked to the 33 kg gold smuggling case. In the year 2017, after the 33 kg gold smuggling investigation committee formed by the government arrested Bimal Poddar, the name of Malhotra also came under the radar of investigation. But the investigation was stopped as no gold was detected.
Serious questions have been raised about the issue of TIA security after the Department of Revenue Investigation seized about 100 kg of smuggled gold that was cleared by the TIA customs last Wednesday.
Although the TIA remains under the Ministry of Tourism which has relevant and supportive agencies such as customs, immigration, police etc, security questions have been raised due to frequent illegal transactions from there.
Various study reports submitted by the police have shown that Nepali businessmen act as middlemen in gold smuggling through Nepal to India and for that, the same businessmen as middlemen also play the role of running the smuggling set-up, by convincing customs officials, police and other agencies.
Although the government should pay special attention to the security of the TIA because it is the first destination to connect with the international border, the government is being negligent and careless regarding this matter.
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