Corruption Case Against Former Minister Basnet and 15 Others Over Teramux Technology Purchase Proceeds in Special Court

Kathmandu. The corruption case against former Minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet and 16 others regarding the purchase of Teramux technology is set for hearing in the Special Court. The case has been scheduled for hearing before a bench comprising Special Court Judges Narayan Prasad Poudel, Hemanta Rawal, and Dilliratna Shrestha.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had sought a claim of Rs 3.51 billion against former Minister Basnet and 16 others. Former Minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet is accused of deciding on the purchase of Teramux technology based on his own proposal without any prior study. In his capacity overseeing the autonomous Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), he had decided during the approval of the budget and program to purchase a suitable system for International Call Monitoring and VoIP control.

The then Chairman of the Authority, Digambar Jha, is accused of attempting to implement Teramux without the necessary legal infrastructure in place. A study conducted before the purchase decision had opined that monitoring citizens' call exchanges and data consumption could only be done after the relevant laws were enacted.

Contrary to this, Jha orchestrated the decision to purchase Teramux on Magh 21, 2073 BS. The CIAA alleges that although the annual budget is presented only once, he repeatedly brought the proposal before the board and acted with malicious intent under pressure. The CIAA has also filed corruption cases against former NTA members Dhanraj Gyawali and Tikaprasad Upreti.

Gyawali, who was a representative of the NTA board while serving as a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Law, was involved. In Magh 2073 BS, the Supreme Court issued a directive order instructing that investigative bodies should not have access to individuals' Call Detail Records (CDR) without a court order.

The CIAA filed corruption cases against Gyawali and Upreti for their involvement in the decision to gain access to citizens' calls and data, which violated the court's order already issued in that regard.

Gyawali stated during his testimony at the CIAA that he was pressured by the Chairman of the Authority. The CIAA alleges that Upreti's similar statement was not deemed credible. The CIAA has accused Minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet, along with NTA Chairman Digambar Jha, and members Gyawali and Upreti of collusion, alleging that the decision was made even in the absence of two experts.