Wide-Body Scam: Former Secretaries and NAC GM Kansakar convicted of corruption

KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 6: The Special Court has convicted the former General Manager of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), Sugat Ratna Kansakar, along with three others, on charges of corruption related to the procurement of aircraft for the national flag carrier.

A bench comprising Special Court Chairman Tek Narayan Kunwar and members Tej Narayan Singh Rai and Ritendra Thapa announced the verdict yesterday. Kansakar, along with former Chairman of the NAC Board of Directors and Secretary of the Tourism Ministry, Shankar Prasad Adhikari; former Board of Directors member and former Secretary Shishir Kumar Dhungana; and then Joint Secretary of the Tourism Ministry, Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane, were found guilty of corruption.

The court sentenced Kansakar to two years and nine months in prison. Adhikari received a jail term of one year and nine months, while Dhungana and Lamichhane were each sentenced to one year and six months.

Additionally, the court imposed a fine of NPR 122.59 million on all the defendants and ordered them to pay an equivalent amount in penalties.

Three representatives of the aircraft supplier company were also convicted, receiving jail sentences of one year and six months each.

However, the court acquitted former Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, Jeevan Bahadur Shahi, along with 26 others, including two foreign nationals.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed charges against 32 individuals, including former Minister Shahi, accusing them of corruption in the procurement of wide-body aircraft. The CIAA sought the recovery of NPR 1.471 billion for their alleged involvement in misappropriating funds during the procurement process.

The anti-graft body had also charged representatives of the aircraft supplier company, including individuals from Germany, Romania, and Moldova.