- Nepal's CIAA summoned German representatives from Mühlbauer and Veridos to testify regarding alleged corruption and irregularities in the national e-passport procurement project.
- The move follows the arrests of the Department of Passports' top officials, Tirtha Raj Aryal and Sunil KC, on bribery and corruption charges.
- Investigators are probing claims that the multi-billion rupee tender was unfairly structured to favor specific bidders through restrictive technical and financial requirements.
- The CIAA is also examining potential political influence and procedural flaws in dividing the procurement into two separate, high-value packages.
Kathmandu, Nepal: The investigation into Nepal’s electronic machine-readable passport (e-passport) procurement has expanded beyond domestic officials, with the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) summoning representatives of two German companies involved in the project. The move signals a widening probe into alleged irregularities in one of the country’s most sensitive and high-value public procurements.
The CIAA issued a public notice through The Rising Nepal daily, instructing the concerned company representatives who signed the agreements to appear before the Commission for statements. The summoned individuals are linked to Mühlbauer ID Services and Veridos, which were awarded separate packages under the e-passport project.
Under the first package, which includes pre-enrollment, enrollment, data management, and delivery systems, the agreement was signed by Gerhard Maurer and Pavle Rakic on behalf of Mühlbauer. The second package, covering quality control and packaging systems, was signed by Fabiola Bellersheim and Florian Paschke representing Veridos. The CIAA has asked them to appear at its central office in Tangal, Kathmandu, or through virtual means within a specified timeframe, although the public notice did not clearly mention the deadline. Officials indicated that detailed instructions may have been communicated earlier through email.
The Commission has warned that failure to comply with the notice will lead to further legal action under prevailing laws, underscoring its intent to intensify the investigation. The development comes after the CIAA arrested Director General of the Department of Passports, Tirtha Raj Aryal, and Director Sunil KC on June 2 (Asar 2), on allegations of involvement in irregularities related to the procurement process. Investigations against them are ongoing.
The e-passport procurement process, initiated in December 2024 (Mangsir 2081 BS), involved the purchase of 64,000 passports over a five-year period. The Department of Passports had issued a relatively short bidding window of around one and a half months, a decision that later drew criticism from competing companies and stakeholders. Allegations soon emerged that the technical and financial requirements in the tender were structured in a way that favored specific bidders and limited fair competition.
Several companies and stakeholders subsequently filed complaints with the CIAA, the Public Procurement Monitoring Office, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, and the Parliamentary State Affairs and Good Governance Committee. However, despite these complaints, the procurement process moved forward, and contracts worth approximately Rs 6.11 billion and Rs 1.55 billion were awarded under two separate packages.
The decision to proceed with the contracts before the resolution of formal complaints has raised concerns over procedural coherence and transparency in public procurement. Experts have also questioned the division of the project into two packages, suggesting that such structuring can weaken accountability and obscure the overall financial and administrative responsibility of a single project.
According to sources, the CIAA is also examining allegations of political and business influence in the procurement process. Complaints reportedly reference the involvement of politically connected individuals and intermediaries, although no formal charges have yet been filed against them. Investigators are understood to be reviewing whether informal networks influenced key decisions during the tender process.
The case has drawn wider attention due to its implications for Nepal’s identity management system, which is critical for international travel and public service delivery. With foreign contractors now being called for statements, the investigation is increasingly taking on an international dimension, raising questions about cross-border accountability in public procurement.
As the probe continues, the CIAA has indicated that it will pursue the case comprehensively, covering both domestic decision-makers and foreign entities involved in the project. The outcome is expected to be closely watched, given its significance for governance, procurement integrity, and institutional accountability in Nepal.
