Nepal anti-graft commission charges ex-PM Madhav Kumar Nepal and 96 others

Nepal’s Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority filed corruption charges against former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and 96 others on 3 November over an alleged land swap. The commission says the deal cost the government roughly $4.8 million.

The case concerns land that Rijal Canning and Company Pvt Ltd was allowed to hold above a legal ceiling from 1975, on condition that it be used for fruit processing. The commission says the company never used it for that purpose and the land should have returned to government ownership.

The charges also name Minendra Prasad Rijal, who was minister for federal affairs and parliamentary affairs and coordinated the cabinet’s social committee at the time. Neither politician could immediately be reached for comment, OCCRP said.

The alleged land swap

The commission alleges that in 2009, when Nepal was prime minister, officials endorsed false recommendations that allowed the company to swap nearly 3 hectares of prime land in Biratnagar for cheaper rural land.

Nepal’s cabinet sent the proposal to Rijal’s committee, which approved the swap that December. The commission alleges a conflict of interest because Rijal is related to the company’s directors.

Under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the commission seeks prison terms and fines equivalent to the alleged loss, as well as confiscation of about 40 hectares registered to the company in Sunsari and Morang districts. Deceased officials were included in the case to facilitate recovery of funds from their estates.

Nepal, who led the government from 2009 to 2011, is now co-coordinator of the Nepali Communist Party. Rijal is a senior Nepali Congress leader. Nepal also faces a separate pending corruption case over alleged irregularities in a land deal awarded to Patanjali Yogpeeth Nepal, a company owned by Indian yoga guru Baba Ramdev.

What happens in court

Special Court information officer Parwati Hitan said summons were scheduled to begin on 4 November. Defendants would have 15 days to appear, with a possible 7-day extension. None had been detained.

Hitan said the court would record defendants’ statements when they appeared, followed by hearings, witness statements and evidence before a bench issued a final decision.