KATHMANDU, Dec 6: The Special Court has directed the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) to investigate Deepak Sharma, one of the main accused in the corruption case related to the purchase of two widebody aircraft by Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC).
The Special Court, while releasing a brief verdict on the widely discussed widebody corruption case from six years ago, has pointed out the preliminary evidence of bribery against Deepak Sharma and directed an investigation.
Sharma, originally from Nepal, is a British citizen. Deepak Sharma was involved in the purchase of two wide-body aircraft on behalf of the NAC as the negotiator, while Sugat Ratna Kansakar represented the corporation, and Sharma was the chairman of the International Supply Chain at AAR Company.
The Special Court has found Sugat Ratna Kansakar, the former managing director of NAC, and Deepak Sharma, a representative of the American company AAR that supplied the aircraft, guilty in the aircraft purchase corruption case. The Special Court has directed further investigation into Sharma, citing evidence of bribery and corruption.
During the debate, government lawyers presented some documents related to a case against Sharma in Colombia, USA. According to the documents, Sharma was accused of receiving bribes from AAR Corp to influence officials of the NAC in the purchase of two wide-body aircraft.
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In the brief order released late Thursday night, the Special Court stated, '”It appears that Deepak Sharma has accepted the allegation by signing. In this regard, an immediate separate investigation should be conducted, and necessary action should be taken by sending a report to the CIAA.”
The charge-sheet of the CIAA mentions that both Kansakar and British citizen Sharma were involved in the creation of the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the aircraft purchase. Instead of following a tender process for the aircraft purchase, they proceeded with the letter of intent process.
The CIAA raised questions about the role of British citizen Sharma from the outset of the corruption scheme. He deviated from the required tender process and moved the procurement process through the letter of intent route, which the Special Court has also considered as the main basis for corruption.
The process of determining the price of the aircraft, from the advance payment to the discussions, became controversial. They were found guilty by the Special Court for making payments higher than the actual amount under the guise of price adjustment.
The most serious issue in the NAC's corruption case was the purchase of aircraft with less capacity than specified. While a 242-ton capacity aircraft was required for purchase, a 230-ton aircraft was bought instead. As a result, the wide-body aircraft were unable to perform long-distance flights.
The role of reducing the aircraft's capacity involved both the NAV's general manager, Kansakar, and Sharma, a representative of the supplier company, AAR, the court said. He was found to have engaged in correspondence and provided suggestions to reduce the aircraft's capacity. The indictment from the CIAA mentions that he wrote emails stating that a 230-ton capacity aircraft would be sufficient for Nepal's airports.
After the investigation progressed, the CIAA issued a notice for the British citizen Sharma to appear for a statement, but he did not show up. As he was absconding, the CIAA filed a case against him.
The company Hi Fly X in Ireland, which sold two aircraft to the NAC, was established by Sharma's group. The company, registered in Ireland on February 21, 2017, purchased two wide-body aircraft from Airbus and sold them to the NAC for Rs 24 billion. Questions were raised in the United States regarding Sharma's involvement in the transaction and the subsequent dealings with this company.
The company Hi Fly X, which supplied the aircraft, was found to have opened an account in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to transfer money to Nepali officials.
The US Department of Justice found that he had opened accounts in the US and Ireland, in addition to Dubai in the UAE, and transferred funds. According to a report, he had transferred around 2,500,000 US dollars in bribes.
The NAC purchased two wide-body aircraft for Rs 24 billion eight years ago, with claims of around Rs 1.47 billion in corruption.
