Kathmandu, October 4
The Special Court has convicted Bikal Paudel, former executive director of the Security Printing Centre, in a corruption case.
A bench comprising Special Court Chairperson Basudev Acharya and members Umesh Koirala and Bidur Koirala found Paudel guilty of corruption involving Rs 419.4 million.
The court ordered the confiscation of property worth Rs 419.4 million and imposed a fine of the same amount.
Although the Special Court has determined the largest-ever amount of assets and fine in a case involving illegal acquisition of property, it sentenced Paudel to only two and a half years in prison.
He was sentenced to an additional six months for committing corruption while holding a position equivalent to a special-class government post. Since he is already in custody and has been ordered to pay a substantial amount in damages and fines, he can remain in custody while appealing the verdict to the Supreme Court.
Before the illegal property acquisition case was filed, three corruption cases had already been filed against Paudel. The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed a case in 2080 BS over alleged irregularities in the construction of the Security Printing Centre’s building and other structures.
A second case was filed against him for allegedly obtaining an appointment in Nepal after acquiring permanent residency (PR) in the United States and concealing information about it. In the third case, the CIAA filed charges against Paudel and five others for alleged corruption in the procurement of equipment for the Security Printing Centre.
After filing the illegal property acquisition case, the CIAA also filed another corruption case against Paudel and then-Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal.
What were the allegations?
The CIAA filed a case against Paudel at the Special Court on May 22, 2024, accusing him of illegally acquiring property worth Rs 621.9 million.
According to the CIAA, suspicious amounts of money had been deposited into accounts belonging to Paudel and his relatives, while the amounts were highly disproportionate to his known income.
The CIAA accused Paudel of illegally acquiring assets worth Rs 620 million, claiming that he had concealed money in Singapore and the United States. It alleged that he had received commissions from suppliers while working in the information technology sector and that the money had subsequently been channelled through accounts in the names of different individuals.
The CIAA also alleged that money held by Paudel in accounts at United Overseas Bank in Singapore and Bank of America in the United States had been acquired through corruption.
Paudel served as executive director of the Security Printing Centre for around five years. Before that, he worked as an engineer at the National Information Technology Centre.
The CIAA alleged that Paudel had taken bribes from foreign companies involved in transactions with various companies contracted by the Security Printing Centre.
The CIAA claimed that Paudel had Rs 289.5 million in Singapore alone in accounts held in his name.
To make the income appear legitimate, Paudel allegedly prepared documents showing that he had been appointed as a consultant at two Singapore-based companies, Bankotex and Instasef.
During its investigation, the CIAA determined that Paudel had illegally acquired property worth Rs 621.9 million. However, it said that only Rs 445.2 million could be traced, and sought the confiscation of property worth Rs 176.6 million that it claimed had been concealed.
Why was he sentenced to only two and a half years?
The Special Court convicted Paudel in the illegal property acquisition case.
An investigation into his assets covered the period from March 28, 2005, to April 12, 2023. During this period, Paudel was found to have received Rs 3.092 million in salary and allowances.
The Special Court deemed his salary and allowances, as well as assets acquired from the sale of shares, to be legitimate. It also declared more than Rs 300 million deposited into his accounts and received through remittances to be legitimate.
According to the Special Court’s verdict, Paudel’s net legitimate income amounted to only Rs 41.6 million.
A total of Rs 289.5 million was found in various accounts at United Overseas Bank in Singapore and in his wife’s Bank of America account in the United States. Of this amount, the Special Court deemed only Rs 37.2 million held in the account of Paudel’s wife, Elina Basnet, to be legitimate. It declared the remaining amount to be illegally acquired through corruption.
A total of Rs 461.1 million in assets belonging to Paudel was traced, but the source of only Rs 41.6 million could be established. According to the Special Court, the remaining amount had been acquired through corruption.
In its brief verdict, the Special Court stated that Paudel had committed an offence under Section 20(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2002. Under Section 20(2) of the same Act, it sentenced him to two years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 419,473,282.85, equivalent to the amount of illegally acquired property. It also ordered the confiscation of property equivalent to the same amount.
Although the Special Court found that Paudel had illegally acquired nearly Rs 420 million, the largest amount determined in a case involving illegal acquisition of property, it sentenced him to only two years in prison.
The Prevention of Corruption Act, 2002, was amended to add a provision under Section 20 that treats the acquisition of property through unlawful means as corruption. The law provides for one to three years in prison for acquiring disproportionate or unusually large assets through illegal means.
At the time the corruption case over illegal acquisition of property was filed against Paudel, the law provided for a two-year prison sentence. The Special Court imposed the sentence under the provision contained in Section 20(1) of the Act.
The additional six-month sentence was imposed for corruption committed while Paudel was holding a special-class government position.
Section 24 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2002, provides for an additional prison sentence of up to three years for officials holding special-class positions, equivalent to the rank of secretary, if they are found guilty of corruption.
Under this provision, the Special Court imposed an additional six-month sentence on Paudel, who served as executive director of the Security Printing Centre.
Although the law allows the court to impose up to three additional years in prison, the Special Court imposed the minimum additional sentence of six months.
