The CIAA has demanded more than Rs 3 billion from 16 people and companies, including Basnet.
What you should know
The hearing in the Terramax corruption case involving Nepali Congress leader and former minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet has begun at a special court.
The case has been scheduled for hearing in a bench of Justices Narayan Prasad Poudel, Hemanta Rawal and Dilli Ratna Shrestha. Earlier, the special court had issued two orders from the Supreme Court.
He was involved in corruption in the procurement of Nepal Telecommunications Authority's Traffic Monitoring and Fraud Control System (TERMAX) equipment and systems. In this case, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority filed a corruption case on 16 people, including the then Minister of Communications Basnet, for allegedly defrauding 3.21 billion 8.3 million rupees.
Vanrise Solutions had filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court against the decision of the Nepal Telecommunications Authority on 20 Baisakh 2076 to cancel the procurement process of the TERMAX system.
The Supreme Court had issued an order on 14 Baisakh 2078 in the writ petition filed on 20 Baisakh 2076. The special court had also ordered the Supreme Court to issue a certified copy of the order in another writ petition related to the same matter.
Similarly, during the investigation of the same corruption case, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority had ordered Keshav Gyawali, a telecommunications expert appointed by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, to be produced before the bench for questioning.
What is the case against Basnet?
The CIAA alleges that former Communications Minister Basnet misinterpreted the right of the Government of Nepal to exercise only the Council of Ministers (the right vested in the Government of Nepal to direct the Nepal Telecommunication Authority) in Sections 18 and 20 of the Telecommunications Act, 2053 BS, and directed that appropriate equipment and systems be operated for international call monitoring/VoIP control.
The consultant for Terramax was paid Rs 1.116 billion, 2.52 billion, 143 thousand for supplying goods without performing any work, including design, development, supply, and installation of software. In addition to the amount paid, the CIAA has suffered losses and damages equal to the amount created as a liability under the agreement, the CIAA's charge sheet states.
He has been charged with the offence under Section 17 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059, as directed by Section 17 of the same Act, and has been charged with imprisonment and fine as per (i) of Sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the same Act before the first amendment and (h) of Sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the same Act after the amendment, and the amount has been recovered as per Section 17 of the same Act.
The charge sheet of the authority states that since he committed the offence under Section 15 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059, he has been charged with imprisonment and fine as per Section 15 of the same Act and with additional punishment as per Section 24 of the same Act.
The defendants, including Minister Basnet, have been charged with corruption by misusing state property to establish an unauthorized structure to gain access to personal information.
It has been found that the then Minister Basnet, who was not included in the proposed program of the Authority for the fiscal year 2074/75, went beyond his jurisdiction and unilaterally decided and directed the implementation of the Terramax project.
According to the same directive, the then officials of the Nepal Telecommunications Authority conspired with each other to commit corruption by acting contrary to the order issued by the Supreme Court on 21 Magh 2072 and against the prevailing law, causing loss and damage to the public institution Nepal Telecommunications Authority.
However, the Authority has concluded that the then Minister Basnet interfered in the project without conducting a feasibility study on the reasons for which the project was suitable, without estimating the cost, without being sure whether it would be implemented or not, without the concerned institution proposing the program, and without making the necessary legal and policy arrangements for the operation of the system.
The Authority has demanded Rs 3.21 billion 83.77 million and 182 thousand from the then Minister of Communications Basnet and 16 other people and companies.
