KATHMANDU, January 26: Mr. Bikal Paudel, suspended Executive Director of Security Printing Center (SPC), and Mr. Sunil Paudel, suspended Managing Director of Nepal Telecom, are now in the custody of the Investigation Committee. It became clear that there was. Funds are kept in Singapore due to suspicion of abuse of authority (CIAA).
The CIAA found evidence that a Singaporean company called Bancotec had deposited funds into the accounts of two Paudels who are being detained by the CIAA on charges of obtaining illegal wealth through corruption.
According to details obtained from a senior CIAA official, a total of USD 58,000 was deposited into Sunil’s account number 380-9483108 on January 2, 2022.
It appears that a Singaporean company called Bancotec deposited the funds into his account through Standard Chartered Bank.
Similarly, on December 6, 2021, a US company called InstaSafe deposited USD 77,545 into his account through Bank of America. We raised $24,995 from InstaSafe on August 2, 2021, and $47,745 on August 25, 2021.
Similarly, on August 2, 2021, USD 24,995 was deposited into the account number 380-9472084 of Bikal Paudel, a suspended SPC executive officer in the United States. According to sources, on March 24, 2021, Bancotec deposited US$50,000 into his account as a transfer.
On April 16, 2023, CIAA filed a case against them in a special court. The case is still ongoing. Over the past five years, government ministers appear to have rebelled against the establishment and amassed illegal wealth.
Republica has learned that he opened an account in a foreign bank and deposited the amount without obtaining approval from Nepal Rastra Bank. The CIAA is investigating the Paudels on suspicion of illegally acquiring wealth.
CIAA claims that both men opened accounts in foreign banks without the approval of Nepal Rastra Bank and were officially appointed as international consultants while working in Nepali government agencies. The CIAA detained the two on Wednesday for investigation. The CIAA submitted both men to court on Thursday seeking an extension of their detention period for investigation.
The special court will decide whether to detain the men in CIAA custody or investigate them outside the prison.
In Bikal Poudel’s case, he also has a permanent resident permit in the United States. Citing possible destruction of evidence and risk of flight, he announced that the CIAA had detained him after issuing an arrest warrant.
A CIAA official said, “As it appears that the investigative work would be compromised, an emergency arrest warrant was issued for them on January 24, 2024, and they were detained and further investigation is underway.”
The Paudels, who were taken to a special court seeking an extension of time for the investigation, argued that they should not have been detained and that even the extension of time was against the law. The Paudels requested consultation with an attorney. Later, Spokesperson Dan Bahadur Karki said a special court would discuss whether to keep them in custody.
Evidence of deposits received by Republica