The government today formed a Judicial Committee to probe the allegedly fake work experience of Nepal Insurance Authority (NIA) Sharad Ojha. Immediately after the formation of Judicial Committee – by the Cabinet today evening – to probe against him, Ojha is suspended.
He was appointed chair of Nepal Insurance Authority – the insurance sector regulator – four months ago in mid-February (Falgun 12, 2081 BS).
The cabinet meeting held today at the Prime Minister’s official residence Baluwatar decided to form a judicial committee to investigate on Ojha’s documents, which automatically suspends him, informed a source at the Cabinet. “The Cabinet decided to investigate the issue of Ojha presenting false experience certificates, claiming to have worked in positions he never held.”
Submitted fake document is a criminal offence and attracts cash and jail term both. Ojha has been, since his appointment, allegedly blamed for submitting fake work experience documents to secure his appointment as chair of the Authority.
The government has formed a three-member committee under former Justice Krishna Giri. The other two members of the committee are Kapildev Oli and Jeevan Prakash Sitoula.
The cabinet meeting has also appointed under-secretary at the Finance Ministry Sebantak Pokharel as the acting Chairman of the Nepal Insurance Authority until further notice.
The cabinet had appointed Ojha, a resident of Kanchanpur, as Chairman of the Insurance Authority in mid-February (on Falgun 12) at the age of 33. But soon after his appointment, allegations surfaced that the 33-year-old Ojha did not meet the required age and qualifications criterion for the post and that the documents he submitted were forged.
A complaint regarding his fake documents had also been filed with the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), and a writ has also been filed – earlier in March (on Chaitra 17, 2081) – at the Supreme Court. Advocate Indira Dhamala filed the writ seeking to annul his appointment, arguing that he was not qualified for the position.
In response, the Supreme Court had summoned documents for investigation.
Blamed as a near one to notorious ‘Thermal Gun Gang’, Ojha’s appointment has been in controversy since the beginning and more recently, Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel was also reportedly asked him to resign. But Ojha, due to his allegedly notorious connections, was confident that neither the Finance Minister Poudel nor anyone could remove him, and declined the suggestion of resignation.
However, the Cabinet today finally decided to suspend him and initiate a formal investigation as he continued to avoid resignation. Though, his resignation would not also relieve him as he is accused of submitting fake documents to government, which is criminal offence.
The anti-corruption body has been investigating – by seeking details from the offices, where Ojha claimed to have worked – and the Supreme Court has also been looking into the case seriously.
Critics claim that Ojha has submitted the fake work experience documents claiming to have worked as an expert for the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), and various corporate sector in high-level managerial roles, while he was also working as a journalist at the same time.
Regarding experience in the insurance sector, he claimed to have worked at Prabhu Mahalaxmi Life Insurance Company. These claims are also under the probe by the CIAA.
Nepal Insurance Authority, as a regulator, lost credibility among stakeholders, especially at a time when the insurance sector is under pressure to merge, digitize, and follow stricter compliance rules, and to build confidence of the sector that has immense scope for growth.
The appointment of NIA chairman Ojha allegedly bypassed the standard open competition and recommendation procedure outlined in law (as per the Insurance Act and public official selection norms), apart from the alleged forged work experience documents. The forgery of government documents is a serious offence. “Government document forgery is a criminal offence that attract cash and jail term both,” according to advocate Jagdish Dahal.
The Finance Ministry was under pressure to take action against his allegation that was strengthening the voices of critics, who claim the appointment was politically motivated and intended to bring someone pliable to the chair, particularly as the Nepal Insurance Authority was overseeing major issues like disputes over reinsurance monopoly, insurance mergers and policy reforms.
The Insurance Act (2079 BS) mandates at least five years of high-level managerial experience in related sector and a minimum age of 35 years. Critics claim Ojha did not meet these criteria, as he was only 33 at the time of appointment, and worked part-time as an insurance agent and college lecturer, not as a senior manager.
Likewise, a complaint filed with the CIAA alleges Ojha submitted fabricated work-experience certificates, including managerial roles at a media house to meet eligibility. A Supreme Court writ petition mirrored these claims, urging annulment of the appointment based on deceitful documentation.
After his appointment, Ojha, in April 2025, modified a directive concerning foreign employment insurance pools delaying equitable fund distribution by one year, reversing a decision by his predecessor Surya Prasad Silwal. The parliamentarians from CPN (Maoist Centre) called for a parliamentary investigation into his appointment and amendments, accusing the government of abusing its authority.
Lately, appointments in almost all the regulators have been controversial due to political interference, lack of transparency in selection process and compromise in accountability mechanisms.
Moreover, the CIAA is flooded with complaints – with proofs – and the Supreme Court is busy with such cases claiming that the appointments are rigged.
The economy should be guided by strong and fair regulatory institutions with rule of law, ensuring fair competition, enforcing contracts, and preventing malpractices like fraud or monopolies, or conflict of interest, but in Nepal regulatory capture by the vested interested groups like ‘Thermal Gun Gang’ has brought not only distortion in the market but also damaged the economy.
Vested interest groups, empowered by political parties and their leaders, have been manipulating the rules, cheating the system, and sidelining genuine players, leading to the present crisis. It’s a systemic problem – a result of deep-rooted collusion between vested interested groups, rent-seekers, and political actors.
The regulators like Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), Securities Board Nepal (SEBON), Nepal Insurance Authority (NIA), Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) and Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) must be led by professionals and impartial characters but currently all the regulatory heads are under the radar of CIAA, and even the Supreme Court.
The CIAA is currently investigating into a complaint alleging that the work experience documents submitted by the chairman of the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) Bhupendra Bhandari are fake. The complaint, filed by a civil society group working on good governance, claims that the documents Bhandari submitted during his appointment process are forged. The group submitted the complaint to the CIAA along with the related documents.
Likewise, the controversies in appointments in regulatory institutions do not stop here. The CAAN director general and SEBON chairman’s controversies have become regular headlines eroding institutional credibility, increased investor and public distrust, and suggesting the institutional capture by the vested interested groups, also called middlemen by public, like ‘Thermal Gun Gang’.
The accusation that certain vested interested groups like ‘Thermal Gun Gang’ and political actors wanted to weaken the regulatory authority so they could operate with less scrutiny – especially amid rising complaints about irregularities in actions by the regulators in the financial sector.
Thus, Ojha’s appointment, like other recent regulator placements, is viewed as politically motivated and aimed at installing loyalists, circumventing meritocracy, which fits a broader pattern: appointments in SEBON and NTA.
Similarly, the SEBON chairman Santosh Narayan Shrestha’s act of approving Initial Public Offering (IPO) of companies with dubious fundamentals and no clear ownership like Trade Tower Ltd, and asking commission to approve the IPOs of hydropower companies in pipeline, is the case of capital market distortions and exploitation of largely unsupervised capital markets.
Apart from that fast-tracking the IPO approval of Bungal hydropower, a company with Shrestha’s personal investment, is a clear case of conflict of interest, and a case study – for Nepal’s intelligentsia – where the referee and player is the same person.
Thus, the Finance Committee under the Parliament, on Thursday, sought explanation on approval of Bungal Hydro, and also Shrestha’s suspicious determination to award license to the second stock exchange without reforming the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse).
Though Shrestha tried to explain in Finance Committee on Thursday that he did not ask for commission to approve the IPO, but the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal (IPPAN), institutionally and individual energy entrepreneurs have been accusing him of sending his henchmen to bargain for commission for IPO approval.
Moreover, another complaint against the SEBON chair Shrestha is also registered at the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) and CIAA.
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