Kathmandu, December 7
The government has formed a high-level committee to probe the sale of Ncell.
Government Spokesperson Rekha Sharma said that Thursday’s meeting of the Council of Ministers had formed a five-member committee chaired by former Auditor General Tankamani Sharma.
Law Secretary Phanindra Gautam, Joint Secretary Baburam Bhandari, Hridayesh Kumar Shakya and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ICAN) President Sujan Kumar Kafle are on the committee.
Sunivera Capital, a Nepali company, currently owns 20 per cent of Ncell shares, while the remaining 80 per cent is held by Reynold Holdings, a company registered in St. Kitts. Malaysia’s Axiata Company has recently announced its intention to sell the entire stake of Reynold Holdings to Spectrlite, a newly registered company in the UK.
Following a decision made during a meeting of the ruling parties on Tuesday, an investigation will be conducted to probe suspicions surrounding the sale of Ncell.
Concerns include whether the transaction took place without the required prior approval from regulatory bodies and whether there may have been attempts to evade taxes. Notably, on Wednesday, the Public Accounts Committee had already directed regulatory bodies to halt any further buying or selling of shares related to companies invested in Ncell.
