Former Speaker Mahara among 28 people charged in corruption case

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case at the Special Court against 28 people, including former Parliament Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara and joint secretary Arun Pokharel, along with a company, in connection with a gold smuggling case.

The anti-graft body has named Mahara, his son Rahul Mahara, Pokharel and others as defendants, accusing them of facilitating the smuggling of gold concealed in electronic cigarettes. The anti-graft body has estimated the loss to the state at Rs77.86 million due to the smuggling and is seeking its recovery from the accused.

According to Ganesh Bahadur Adhikari, assistant spokesperson at the CIAA, the defendants include former speaker Mahara, Arun Pokharel, then customs chief at TIA, Chinese, Indian and Belgian nationals among others have been sued in the case.

The case originates from an incident on December 25, 2022, when a smuggling network attempted to bring gold hidden inside vape devices from Dubai.

Investigations found that smugglers concealed gold inside 730 vape units packed in 73 boxes and transported them via Tribhuvan International Airport to a customs warehouse. The gold weighed around nine kilograms, but much of it later went missing.

The case also names foreign nationals, including Chinese citizens Li Hang Song and Daojing Wang, Belgian national Dawa Tshering, Indian national Saheb Rao Pandurang Margale, and Dexter Travels and Tours Pvt Ltd.