CIAA Files Money Laundering Charges Against Gandaki Province Official

Kathmandu. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a money laundering case against Jhalak Sharma Paudel, an accounts officer at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development and Transport Management in Gandaki Province.

On Sunday, the commission filed a charge sheet at the Special Court in Kathmandu against Paudel, his family members, and other accomplices, seeking the recovery of millions of rupees.

According to the CIAA, investigations revealed that the eighth-level accounts officer, Paudel, abused his official position to accumulate illegal assets. He allegedly created a complex web of financial transactions, including 'fake' loan dealings in the names of various individuals, to disguise the illicit nature of his wealth.

During the investigation, it was found that Rs 25,134,462 held in bank and cooperative accounts under the names of Paudel and his wife, Huma Kumari Upadhyay, was illegal. Including interest, the total claim has been set at Rs 25,867,324. It was also discovered that Paudel prepared fraudulent documents claiming to have repaid loans amounting to Rs 25.3 million to various individuals, despite never having taken such loans, in an attempt to justify the source of his assets.

In this case, Paudel has been named the primary defendant, while his wife Huma Kumari Upadhyay, Jamuna Kumari Roka Chhetri, Hari Prasad Paudel, and Shanti Darai Paudel have been named as accomplices. They are accused of assisting in concealing the nature and source of the assets despite knowing they were proceeds of corruption.

The CIAA has demanded a recovery of Rs 25,867,324 from the primary defendant, Jhalak Sharma Paudel, along with equivalent fines and a prison sentence. Additionally, the commission has requested the confiscation of Rs 17,013,050 held in his accounts.

The claim amounts set for the accomplices are Rs 22.3 million for his wife Huma Kumari Upadhyay, Rs 16,306,000 for Jamuna Kumari Roka Chhetri, and Rs 13.8 million for Hari Prasad and Shanti Darai Paudel.

CIAA Assistant Spokesperson Ganesh Bahadur Adhikari stated that the commission has demanded half the prison sentence and fines applicable to the primary defendant for the accomplices.

A separate corruption case regarding the accumulation of illegal assets had already been filed against Paudel on Ashar 25.