Kathmandu: Government agencies in Nepal have increasingly used the procurement of information technology (IT) equipment and contracts as a major channel for corruption. Cases filed by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) and audit reports from the Office of the Auditor General show widespread irregularities in IT procurement.

In the last three fiscal years, the CIAA filed 17 cases in the Special Court in Kathmandu alleging IT-related corruption, covering fiscal years 2022/23 to 2024/25. The total claimed embezzlement in these cases exceeds Rs 8.995 billion.

During the same period, the CIAA filed 500 corruption and bribery cases in the Special Court with claims totaling Rs 16.153 billion. More than half—55.68 percent—of this amount came from IT procurement, meaning the 17 IT-related cases involved larger sums than the 483 cases from other sectors combined.

“Complaints and cases related to IT and the land sector have been higher in recent years,” said CIAA spokesperson Rajendra Kumar Paudel.

Some major IT-related cases include:

  • July 11, 2025: Six individuals, including former National Information Technology Center (NITC) executive director Sunil Paudel and former director Safal Shrestha, were accused of Rs 158.85 million corruption in the procurement of “High Compute Infrastructure.”
  • June 8, 2025: Eighteen individuals, including former Nepal Telecom managing director Sunil Paudel, were accused of Rs 334.817 million irregularities in the “Convergent Real-Time Billing and Customer Support” system.
  • May 20, 2025: Five individuals, including NITC officials, faced charges of Rs 57.9 million in the “RSC & HCI Server” procurement.
  • May 16, 2025: Sixteen individuals, including former Minister of Information and Communications Mohan Bahadur Basnet and former chair of the Telecommunications Authority Digambar Jha, were accused of Rs 3.218 billion irregularities in the “Telecommunication Traffic Monitoring and Fraud Control System (Teramax).”

Other notable cases:

  • February 7, 2025: Rs 30.85 million corruption in security and network equipment procurement.
  • June 22, 2024: Rs 386.717 million irregularities in excise sticker printing; some individuals convicted, others acquitted.
  • May 22, 2024: Security Printing Center executive Vikal Paudel accused of illegal gains of Rs 621.918 million through domestic and foreign commissions.
  • May 13, 2024: Rs 408.574 million corruption in Security Press software procurement; Paudel convicted.
  • May 1, 2024: Sunil Paudel accused of Rs 237.546 million in illegal commissions.
  • April 12, 2024: Rs 919.308 million irregularities in the mobile device management system; some convictions.
  • October 1, 2023: Rs 232.758 million irregularities in National Payment Gateway procurement; Paudel convicted.
  • April 15, 2023: Rs 6.908 billion corruption in Power System and Fuel Storage Tank procurement; Paudel sentenced to two years, ordered to repay Rs 254.7 million.

These cases represent just a portion of IT-sector corruption over three years, highlighting systemic issues in procurement and contract management.

Investment in the IT sector has risen steadily, contributing to these irregularities. Between FY 2017/18 and 2021/22, the government allocated Rs 76.855 billion for telecommunications infrastructure and development, of which Rs 13.566 billion was spent.

The Cabinet approved the “Digital Nepal Framework 2019” on October 22, 2019, with an estimated budget of Rs 107.5 billion across sectors including digital infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, energy, tourism, finance, and urban development. Though intended for five years, the framework has not been fully implemented, reflecting a gap between spending and project completion.

Audit reports have repeatedly flagged irregularities in IT procurement. For instance, the Security Printing Center estimated a cost of Rs 33.02 billion for a secure press and sought a multi-year plan for building construction and machinery procurement. Despite Cabinet approval for further discussion on July 6, 2020, Rs 2.826 billion was spent by FY 2022/23 without an approved plan, leaving equipment unused.

With the sector expanding and large budgets at stake, IT procurement remains vulnerable to misuse, underlining the need for stricter oversight and accountability.

- People’s News Monitoring Centre