Kathmandu, October 2
A corruption case has been lodged against nine individuals, including the current secretary, in relation to alleged corruption within the national payment gateway system.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority has lodged a case at the Special Court against seven individuals, which includes Commerce and Supplies Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini, the former Executive Director of the National Information Technology Center (NITC), Pranita Upadhyay, Managing Director of Nepal Telecom Sunil Paudel, as well as the former Secretary and then Executive Director of National Information Technology Center, Sanjay Sharma.
As per the complaint, it is alleged that the national payment gateway, acquired six years ago through collusion and planning involving the then Executive Director of NITC, has not been put into operation.
This occurred without the essential infrastructure being readied, leading to the unlawful spending of government funds, causing significant damage and losses. The purchase was made at an unreasonable cost of Rs 250 million, according to the claims.
