Special Court Orders Submission of Arguments in Corruption Case Against Former NTC MD Sunil Poudel and 18 Others

Kathmandu. The Special Court has ordered the submission of argument notes in the corruption case filed against 18 people including the then Managing Director of Nepal Doorsanchar Company Limited, Sunil Poudel. The bench of Special Court Chairman Sudarshan Dev Bhatta and Judges Umesh Koirala and Biddur Koirala, while hearing the case, ordered both parties to submit their argument notes. The court issued this order as part of the process to conclude the case. The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority had filed a case in the Special Court claiming a large financial irregularity and collusion in the upgrade of Nepal Telecom's billing system. The authority's accusation is that the then Managing Director Poudel and other defendants misused their positions and caused significant losses to the state treasury. A claim of Rs 330 million has been made against the defendants involved in this corruption case. The case began on Push 6, 2068 BS, when the then Managing Director Poudel and his team signed an agreement with the Chinese company 'AsiaInfo Linkage Technology' for the Convergent Real-Time Billing and Customer Support (CRTBCS) billing system. The main objective of the agreement was to integrate various telecommunication services operated electronically on different platforms of Telecom, such as GSM mobile, fiber, internet, leased line, wireline, and wireless broadband, into a single platform. Furthermore, the system was intended to perform real-time billing and update customer data immediately. The purchase agreement clearly stipulated that services could be provided for up to 6 years under the Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) and that payment for maintenance should be made at a declining rate of 5 percent. The charge sheet filed by the authority states that millions were embezzled through collusion during the implementation and upgrade of the said purchase and maintenance agreement.