Kathmandu, Shrawan 18 - The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed another CIAA corruption case against suspended Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Director General Pradeep Adhikari alleging that the money collected as bribe from airport construction contracts was later utilized to purchase land which intensified well-known Pradeep Adhikari corruption case.
The charge sheet filed at Special Court says the contractors allegedly paid kickbacks in connection with dosens of small and medium-sized airport construction projects. According to the CIAA, the money was subsequently used to buy 13 aana of land in Lalitpur under the name of Adhikari's spouse, Sufal KC, in what investigators characterize as a significant CAAN corruption case.
The transaction of land was registered in Land Revenue Office with Rs 91 million. The CIAA, however, maintain that the real agreed value of the property was around Rs27.5 million and that there was an additional payment of Rs17.1 million directly to the property's sellers by contractors and individuals involved in construction firms that had contracts with CAAN. The allegations are part of a wider Nepal airport corruption investigation.
The commission said that contractors associated with Uma and Company put the extra money straight into the bank accounts of land sellers Surya Tamrakar and Rajani Shrestha Tamrakar. The CIAA says these are being paid to help them secure and execute airport building contracts. According to the investigators, the contractors had been issued with 33 contracts valued at Rs. 3 billion by CAAN. The projects comprised construction and maintenance activities at Tribhuvan International Airport and airports in Janakpur, Dhangadhi, Rara, Kalikot and Nalinchok.
Adhikari has denied the accusations. He informed the CIAA in the statement that he bought the land for Rs.91 million using legal sources of income and he could not be held liable regarding financial transactions between the land sellers and third parties. Adhikari has also been accused by the anti-graft body of concealing money that he says he had collected through corruption by buying real estate and showing the purchase as perfectly legal. The prosecution is seeking Rs17.1 million to be recovered from Adhikari, contractor Prem Prakash Dhakal and Gayatri Construction for the money-laundering offense. The case has come to the forefront as authorities allege the former CAAN chief accused of buying land with bribe and allegedly trying to cover up the money.
The CIAA has not initiated an investigation against the wife of Adhikari after confirming her as a Nepali Army officer. Investigations of serving military personnel are, in most cases, under the military justice system, in accordance with Article 239 of the Constitution and the Army Act. All the allegations have yet to be substantiated and all the defendants will have the opportunity to defend themselves before the Special Court.
Source: Online Khabar
