CIAA files chargesheet against 16 persons over TERAMOCS scam

BY A STAFF REPORTER,Kathmandu, May 16: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed a charge sheet against 16 individuals, including former Minister for Information and Communications and current House of Representatives member Mohan Bahadur Basnet and Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) former Chairmen Digamber Jha and Purushottam Khanal, alleging irregularities of Rs. 3.21 billion in the procurement and operation of the Telecommunication Traffic Monitoring and Fraud Control System (TERAMOCS) at the Special Court in Kathmandu. 

According to the investigation report, the NTA prepared a falsified evaluation to include an unqualified consultant in the Request for Proposal (RFP) process during the procurement of TERAMOCS and selected them through irregular methods. Furthermore, despite a writ order by the Supreme Court related to case number 069-WO-0268 dated February 4, 2016, the system was established without introducing any legal framework that complies with the court's directive. The system, as implemented, provided unauthorised access to citizens' private data, thereby misusing state resources and causing damage to public property, actions deemed to constitute corruption. 

The investigation also found that the NTA had submitted its annual programme for fiscal year 2017/18 to the Ministry of Information and Communications for approval, but TERAMOCS was not part of the proposed plan. Nevertheless, then-Minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet allegedly overstepped his legal jurisdiction and unilaterally directed the implementation of TERAMOCS. Following his direction, NTA officials colluded to proceed with the project, violating both the Supreme Court’s order and prevailing laws.

The CIAA has also charged former NTA members Dhanaraj Gyawali and Tika Prasad Upreti, NTA Directors Bijay Kumar Raya, Surendra Lal Hada and Dipesh Acharya, as well as Deputy Directors Rewati Ram Pantha, Suresh Basnet, Hiranya Prasad Bastakoti, Achutananda Mishra and Sandip Adhikari.

Additionally, the CEO of the consulting company Vanrise Solutions SAL (Offshore), Jamal Anouti, and from the local agent Connection Trade Link Pvt. Ltd. (Kathmandu, Nepal) Chairman Dilip Kumar Gurung and Director Tej Prasad Kharel have been presented as defendants.

The CIAA has demanded the recovery of Rs. 3,218,377,182 from the defendants.

After CIAA filed case, lawmaker Basnet has been suspended from the Parliament.

Speaker Devraj Ghimire informed the Parliament on Thursday that Nepali Congress lawmaker Mohan Bahadur Basnet has been suspended from his post as a Member of the House of Representatives. 

Basnet, elected from Sindhupalchowk-2, was automatically suspended after the CIAA filed a corruption case against him. The suspension is in accordance with Section 33 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which mandates automatic suspension of any lawmaker once a corruption case is formally lodged.