Fiscal Nepal
First Business News Portal in English from Nepal
KATHMANDU. Nepal’s anti-graft body, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), has decided to file a corruption case related to the construction of Pokhara International Airport, naming five former ministers and dozens of senior officials as defendants.
According to CIAA sources, the process of registering the case at the Special Court is currently underway. A CIAA team has already reached the court to formally lodge the charges.
The defendants include former ministers Bhim Acharya, Ram Kumar Shrestha, Dipak Amatya, Ram Sharan Mahat, and the late Post Bahadur Bogati. Following Bogati’s death, his wife Ram Maya Bogati has been named as a defendant in the case.
Former UML leader Bhim Acharya, who was a member of the dissolved House of Representatives and a contender for the party’s vice-chairmanship, is among the accused. Dipak Amatya, who previously served as personal secretary to former Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal, later became Minister for Tourism.
Ram Kumar Shrestha served as Tourism Minister during the Khil Raj Regmi-led interim government on the recommendation of CPN (Maoist Centre) Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’. Shrestha has previously been convicted by the Special Court in a separate case involving illicit acquisition of property filed by the CIAA.
The CIAA has also named 55 other individuals as defendants, including then Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Rati Chandra Lal Suman and then Project Manager—and current suspended CAAN Director General—Pradip Adhikari.
Other accused include former secretary Suresh Man Shrestha, task force coordinator and former Supreme Court registrar Ram Krishna Timilsina, along with a large number of senior bureaucrats and officials involved in the airport project at the time.
Pokhara International Airport, one of Nepal’s largest national pride projects, has been under scrutiny for alleged financial irregularities, procedural violations, and corruption in procurement and construction processes. CIAA officials said the case will be pursued under anti-corruption laws once formally registered at the Special Court.
Further details, including the amount of alleged financial damage and specific charges, are expected to be disclosed after the case is officially filed.
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