KATHMANDU, Aug 10: The Special Court has ordered former finance minister and Nepali Congress (NC) leader Gyanendra Bahadur Karki to be released on Rs 1.5 million bail in a corruption case related to the construction of Pokhara International Airport.
Karki appeared before the Special Court on Monday for a detention hearing after the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed a corruption case against him and others over alleged irregularities in the airport project.
A bench comprising Justices Narayan Prasad Paudel, Dilliratna Shrestha and Umesh Koirala issued the order.
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The CIAA has sought recovery of Rs 3.625 billion, alleging that tax exemptions were granted to the contractor company in violation of the original agreement, causing financial losses to the state.
According to the CIAA, the contractor was required under the procurement agreement to pay taxes, duties and other charges. However, a decision was made to waive the payments in violation of the agreement, allegedly through collusion between government officials and the Chinese contractor.
The anti-graft body has claimed Rs 3,625,052,160 as the loss caused to the state and has maintained the same amount as collective liability against the defendants.
Former finance secretary Shankar Prasad Adhikari, former tourism secretary Maheshwar Neupane, former finance ministry joint secretary Kebal Prasad Bhandari, and former tourism ministry joint secretaries Suresh Acharya and Danduraj Ghimire have also been named as defendants.
Former director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Sanjib Gautam and former project director Pradeep Adhikari, among others, have also been named as defendants in the case.
