The Nepali Embassy in Germany has raised questions about the additional fees being charged by Nawa Raj Pokharel, the honorary consul of Nepal to Romania, in the name of passport renewal.
Nepali Ambassador to Germany, Ram Kaji Khadka, on Sunday issued a notice and warned not to charge such additional fees of more than 5 euros.
Earlier, when Khadka visited Romania with a team including Labor Minister Sharat Singh Bhandari, the Nepalis working in the country questioned the additional fees being charged by Pokharel.
Then the embassy carried out an investigation at the initiative of Ambassador Khadka.
The investigation shows Pokharel used to collect a minimum of 250 euros per person until five months ago in the name of passport renewal against 120 euros as fixed by the government.
He used to raise more than twice.
By last May, he renewed the passports of around 500 Nepalis from Romania. Even if calculated at the rate of 250 euros, it seems that 125,000 euros have been collected from them.
Even after deducting the revenue to be deposited in the government fund, it is revealed that he kept 65,000 euros himself. This is 9.1 million Nepali rupees, according to the current exchange rate.
After some Nepali youths raised questions about the amount he was charging, Pokharel reduced the fee. He was charging 150 euros per person, until recently.
While raising 30 euros per person extra, he said 20 euros service fee and 10 euros for an organization called Nepali Society. What should be remembered is that Pokharel himself is the founder president of the said Nepali society.
Last time he collected passport renewal fee from around 800 people at the rate of 150 euros. Out of which 16,000 euros were paid as service charges while 8,000 euros went into Pokharel's pocket in the name of Nepali society. This means 3.36 million Nepali rupees.
The embassy has also received a complaint that Pokharel is charging extra fees even when sending a 'demand letter' for the workers wanted by Romania. According to a source at the embassy, an investigation into this case is underway.
However, consul Pokharel remained out of contact, evading several calls. He did not respond to the written questions, either.
Romania, a European country, has become the most preferred labor destination of Nepali people for the last few years. According to statistics, 10,000 Nepali migrant workers have been working in the last three years.
Only 6,418 people went to Romania in the previous fiscal year. Recently, a labor agreement has also been signed between the two countries.
After the expiry of their passports, the Nepali migrant workers in the country have been renewing them through the Honorary Consulate of Nepal in Bucharest.
