Tourism Ministry Under secretary Pramod Nepal convicted in corruption

February 3, kathmandu – Pramod Nepal, an under secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, was convicted of corruption by the Special Court last Friday. The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority had filed a corruption case against Nepal on September 17, 2023, accusing him of accepting bribes for the license renewal of both an airline and a paragliding company.

Special Court Chairperson Tek Narayan Kunwar, along with members Ram Bahadur Thapa and Murari Babu Shrestha, found Nepal guilty and sentenced him to one year in jail, accompanied by a fine of Rs 6,00,000. Despite his academic achievements, including receiving a gold medal in economics from Tribhuvan University, Nepal was caught red-handed with a bribe of Rs 2.25 million in early August last year. Upon his arrest, Rs 6,00,000 was seized from him, with an additional Rs 1.65 million discovered in the car he was using.

Regarding the corruption allegations related to BB Airways’ license renewal, the commission sought a three to six-month jail term and a fine of Rs 1.65 million for Nepal under Section 5(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act-2002. In the paragliding license case, the anti-graft body pursued up to two years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 6,00,000 for him under Section 3(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act-2002.