The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has sought and received assistance from the US government in tracing the illicit assets of Bikal Paudel, the suspended executive director of the Security Printing Center. Despite the absence of a mutual legal assistance agreement between Nepal and the US, the US Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Washington DC, has provided vital information confirming Paudel’s US permanent resident status, which he acquired after purchasing a house in the country.
The CIAA pursued details about Paudel’s assets through the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs under the Mutual Legal Assistance Act. The indictment filed by the commission in the special court includes confirmation from the US government that Paudel purchased a house in New York for $515,000 under the name of his wife, Elina Basnet, in 2078 BS. Additionally, the US government revealed that Paudel conducted financial transactions in the US through Hyundai. The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police is conducting a separate investigation into these financial activities.
Singapore has also assisted in the investigation. The Attorney General’s Chambers in Singapore confirmed that Paudel had an account with United Overseas Bank and provided a statement of suspicious transactions. It was revealed that Paudel had concealed 28 million rupees in Singapore alone.
In contrast, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Canada have not responded to requests for information regarding Paudel’s assets, despite efforts by the CIAA under the mutual legal assistance law. Due to the lack of bilateral agreements, some countries do not provide information on individuals involved in crime and corruption. However, the Financial Information Unit of Nepal Rastra Bank managed to gather some of Paudel’s transaction details abroad, including suspicious transactions in his Singapore account, through the World Information Network.
The CIAA filed a case against Paudel on 9 Jestha, 2081 BS concerning the illegal acquisition of 620 million rupees. The special court has since ordered his preliminary detention on Wednesday. After spending four months in custody, Paudel has been convicted in two of the four corruption cases filed against him. On 8th jestha 2081 BS, he was convicted of obtaining US permanent residency while still in government service and sentenced to one year in prison. Additionally, he was convicted of embezzling 96.2 million rupees in the purchase of security printing presses, resulting in a two-year prison sentence and a government loss of over 250.47 million rupees. Another case related to irregularities in the purchase of presses, filed on 30 Baisakh 2081, remains pending.
Paudel, who began his career as a computer engineer at the National Information Technology Center in 2061 BS, was appointed as the executive director of the Security Printing Center in 2074 BS.
30th May 2024
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