Nepal’s anti-corruption body launches case against top officials, including secretary Marasini

KATHMANDU: A corruption case has been filed against seven individuals, including Madhukumar Marasini, the Secretary of the Government of Nepal, regarding the procurement of the National Payment Gateway.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has officially registered this case, implicating these seven individuals, including Marasini, in alleged corrupt activities associated with the acquisition of the National Payment Gateway.

The case centers around allegations that six years ago, the National Payment Gateway was acquired through collusion and planning involving the then Executive Director of the National Information Technology Center. Notably, despite the passage of time, the National Payment Gateway has remained unused due to a lack of the requisite infrastructure.

Furthermore, it is alleged that the acquisition was approved at an unreasonably high cost of 25 million Nepalese rupees, resulting in illegal damage to the assets of the Government of Nepal and the misappropriation of government funds. As a consequence of these allegations, a corruption case has been formally registered against the accused parties.

The individuals facing charges in this case include Sanjay Sharma, who held the position of Secretary in the Ministry of Science and Technology and also served as the Chairman of the National Center for Information Technology at the time.

Additionally, Pranitha Upadhyay, the former Executive Director of the National Center for Information Technology, Sunil Paudel, who served as the Director of the National Information Technology Center and was the Managing Director of Nepal Telecom, as well as Safal Shrestha, the former Deputy Director of the Hall and Head of the General Branch at the Ministry of Finance Budget and Program.

Moreover, the case implicates Madhu Kumar Marasini, who was the Secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supply at the time, Ramesh Prasad Pokharel, who held the position of Assistant Director at the National Information Technology Center, and Ramesh Pokharel, who served as the Account Officer of the National Information Technology Center.

Further individuals implicated are Nim Bahadur Woli, who was a former Account Officer at the National Information Technology Center, Ram Bahadur Budha, who served as an accounting officer at the National Information Technology Centre, and Ram Sharan Gaik, a computer engineer employed at the National Information Technology Center.

In connection with this case, a sum of 23 crore 27 lakh 58 thousand 77 Nepalese rupees is being claimed as part of the ongoing legal proceedings.