CIAA files Rs10.13 billion passport graft case against 18

Anti-graft body accuses officials and two German firms of rigging the e-passport contract. Concerns grow over dwindling passport stocks and future supplies.

Nepal’s anti-graft body, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), has filed a corruption case against 18 defendants, including the Director General of the Department of Passports Tirtha Raj Aryal, over alleged irregularities in the procurement of e-passports.