KATHMANDU: The Special Court has begun hearings in a corruption case related to the procurement of the Telecommunication Traffic Monitoring and Fraud Control System (Teramax) by the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA).
The case names 19 defendants, including former minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet, on charges of corruption. The hearing is being conducted by a bench comprising Judges Narayan Prasad Paudel, Hemant Rawal, and Dilliratna Shrestha.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed the case, alleging corruption amounting to more than Rs 3.21 billion in the Teramax procurement process. The anti-graft body has also accused a foreign consulting company and its Nepal-based agent of involvement in the irregularities.
Former minister Basnet is currently out on bail. He was released after the Special Court ordered his release on a bail amount of Rs 2.5 million during a hearing held on Asar 15 (late June). He is accused of unilaterally directing the purchase of the Teramax system by making decisions that, according to the prosecution, should have been taken by the Cabinet.
Along with Basnet, the CIAA has charged former NTA chairpersons Digambar Jha and Purushottam Khanal; former NTA members Dhanraj Gyawali and Tika Prasad Upreti; the consulting firm Vanrise Solutions SAL; and its Nepali agent, Collection Trade Link Pvt. Ltd., Kathmandu.
According to the CIAA, corruption occurred in the Teramax procurement through collusion involving Vanrise Solutions CEO Jamal Anouti, Collection Trade Link Chairperson Dilip Kumar Gurung, and Director Tej Prasad Kharel. The prosecution has sought recovery of Rs 3,21,83,77,182 from the defendants as claimed damages.
