CIAA files corruption case against Sitting Secretary Marasini and 8 others

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against nine individuals, including the current government secretary, Madhu Kumar Marasini. The case revolves around the National Payment Gateway purchase, where the accused are alleged to have misused government funds and damaged government property.

The anti-graft body has accused the individuals of purchasing the National Payment Gateway system at a cost of Rs250 million without having the necessary infrastructure in place. Moreover, they approved an unreasonably high estimate for the system purchase, leading to financial irregularities.

The case has been filed against prominent figures, including Sanjay Sharma, the former chairperson at the National Information Technology Centre, Pranita Upadhyay, the former executive director at the Centre, Sunil Paudel, who was then deputy director/executive director and is currently the Managing Director of Nepal Telecom. Other accused include Safal Shrestha, the former director of the centre, Ramesh Prasad Pokharel, the former assistant director, and account officers Nim Bahadur Oli and Ram Bahadur Budha. The list also includes computer engineer Ram Sharan Gayak.

The CIAA has filed a graft case amounting to Rs230 million against Sharma, Upadhyaya, Paudel, Budha, Pokharel, Gayak, and Marasini. Additionally, a corruption case of Rs1.7 million has been filed against Safal Shrestha, and a case of Rs8.9 million has been initiated against Nim Bahadur Oli.