In one of the largest anti-corruption crackdowns in recent history, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed a massive corruption case at the Special Court on Monday. The anti-graft body has accused 18 individuals, including high-ranking bureaucrats and influential business representatives, of embezzling nearly Rs 8 billion in a fraudulent passport printing procurement deal.
The high-profile charge-sheet directly implicates top leadership within the Department of Passports, including Director General Tirtha Raj Aryal, Director Sunil Kumar KC, and former Account Officer Tulsi Prasad Acharya. A host of other officials and local agents—including Manendra Malla, Siddhartha Thapa, Rajaram Dahal, Shatrudhan Prasad Sharma Pokharel, Rabindra Raj Bhandari, and Bipin Prasai—have also been formally charged in the joint indictment.
According to the CIAA’s investigation, the multi-billion rupee passport contract was systematically split into two separate packages last year to bypass competitive bidding and favor predetermined international firms. Under this rigged arrangement, Mühlbauer ID Services secured a contract worth Rs 1.55 billion, while another company, Veridas, bagged the lion's share with a contract valued at Rs 6.55 billion.
The scandal highlights a deep-seated nexus between business elites and political power, as the lucrative deals were allegedly distributed based on political access during the tenure of the previous CPN-UML and Nepali Congress coalition government.
Investigators point out that Mühlbauer’s local representative, Manendra Malla, holds close ties to UML, while Veridas’s agent, Siddhartha Thapa, is well-connected with Nepali Congress, fueling public outrage over systemic political collusion and the misuse of state funds.
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