Special court orders technical audit in TERAMOCS corruption case

KATHMANDU: The Special Court has ordered a comprehensive technical inspection and submission of an expert report regarding equipment installed under the Telecommunications Traffic Monitoring and Fraud Control System (TERAMOCS) project, in a corruption case filed by Nepal’s Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).

A joint bench of judges Narayan Prasad Poudel, Hemanta Rawal, and Dilliratna Shrestha issued the directive, stating that the court lacks verified technical clarity on whether the equipment claimed to have been supplied and installed under the TERAMOCS procurement process actually exists in operational condition.

The bench emphasized that determining the factual and technical status of the system is central to adjudicating the corruption charges.

According to the CIAA’s charge sheet, Rs 1.11 billion was paid for the procurement, supply, and installation of TERAMOCS-related equipment.

The supplier company has maintained that the equipment corresponding to the payment has already been delivered and installed. However, the court ruled that this assertion cannot be accepted without independent technical validation.

To carry out the assessment, a technical evaluation team has been constituted under the coordination of a senior expert engineer from the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA).

The team includes an expert professor from Pulchowk Engineering Campus and a technical expert from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), reflecting a multi-institutional approach combining telecommunications engineering, academic expertise, and forensic investigation capacity.

The court has directed that the inspection be conducted in the presence of representatives from both the CIAA and the supplier company, ensuring procedural transparency. The team is mandated to conduct on-site verification, system-level testing, and performance evaluation. The report must clarify:

• Whether the TERAMOCS equipment has actually been installed
• The operational and functional status of the system
• Compliance with specified technical standards and contractual requirements
• Whether the scale and nature of equipment match the payments made

In a related order, the Special Court has also instructed authorities to produce the original file of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) concerning its directive to halt the TERAMOCS procurement process.

The court noted that the parliamentary committee’s intervention, its legal basis, and administrative correspondence are materially relevant to the case record.

TERAMOCS, designed as a telecommunications traffic monitoring and fraud control platform, is regarded as a sensitive regulatory and revenue-assurance system in the telecom sector.

The CIAA lodged the corruption case citing suspected irregularities in procurement procedures, alleged overpayment, and concerns that the installed infrastructure may not meet required technical specifications.

Following the court’s latest order, the evidentiary focus of the trial is expected to shift decisively toward technical proof — specifically the physical existence, functionality, and standards compliance of the TERAMOCS system — alongside the financial justification of the payments made under the project.

Legal analysts note that the forthcoming technical report could play a pivotal role in shaping the court’s determination of liability.