CIAA files corruption case over misappropriation of funds in Rupandehi cold storage project

Kathmandu. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a case at the Special Court against individuals accused of embezzling government funds by creating fraudulent performance reports for a cold storage facility under construction in Sammarimai, Rupandehi.

The CIAA filed the charge sheet on Wednesday, citing widespread irregularities in the agreement between the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives and the Bhawani Swabalamban Multipurpose Cooperative.

Investigations revealed corruption in the cold storage project, which began construction under the approved budget for the fiscal year 2076/77 with a cost of 54.3 million rupees.

The investigation found that the same consulting firm was assigned to both prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and conduct evaluations, leading to the approval of an unrealistic cost estimate. The CIAA concluded that the procurement process was conducted directly without open competition, in violation of the Public Procurement Act and Regulations, and that 7,197,980 rupees were paid out based on false measurement reports and fake bills.

Due to the malicious payment made before the work was completed, the cold storage facility is currently dilapidated, incomplete, and unusable. According to the CIAA, the constructed structure has reached a state where it cannot be used for any purpose.

Alleging that the misuse of government grants has caused a loss to state property, a case has been filed against the responsible officials of the then ministry and the office bearers of the cooperative organization. The CIAA has demanded fines and imprisonment commensurate with the embezzled amount. Although nine different cooperative organizations had decided to invest in this project, the investigation showed that only government funds were exploited.