KATHMANDU, Sept 18: Local governments have emerged as the biggest source of corruption in Nepal, accounting for nearly half of the 33,519 complaints registered by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025/26. Complaints involving the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration accounted for the largest share of cases against federal entities.
The CIAA said at a press conference on Thursday that complaints involving local bodies had continued to rise, reflecting growing concerns over corruption and irregularities at the local level. CIAA Spokesperson Suresh Neupane said the anti-graft body had witnessed a significant volume of complaints during the last fiscal year.
Of the complaints registered during FY 2025/26, 20,025, or 49.03 percent, were related to local bodies. Complaints concerning federal entities stood at 15,512, or 37.98 percent, while 5,305 complaints, or 12.99 percent, were related to provincial-level bodies.
The CIAA has failed us
The CIAA also carried over 7,323 complaints from the previous fiscal year.
Among complaints concerning federal entities, the highest number—3,036—were related to the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration, according to Neupane.
During the review period, the Special Court issued 156 verdicts in cases filed by the CIAA. The court ruled in favour of the commission in 81 cases, while 104 appeals were filed with the Supreme Court.
The CIAA submitted its annual report for FY 2025/26 to President Ram Chandra Paudel on Thursday. In the report, the commission recommended a range of reforms to public agencies and officials and called for greater coordination among agencies working in areas including money laundering control, education, information technology, land administration and securities to help curb corruption.
The CIAA said it registered 166,520 complaints over the past five fiscal years, with the number increasing significantly except for the last fiscal year. It registered 24,331 complaints in FY 2021/22, 28,065 in FY 2022/23, 36,186 in FY 2023/24 and 37,026 in FY 2024/25, before the number fell to 33,519 in FY 2025/26.
