The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority on Wednesday detained former managing director of Nepal Telecom Sunil Paudel and former executive director of Security Printing Centre Bikal Paudel.

The anti-graft body had filed graft cases against the duo and they were detained for further investigation. They were taken under control on suspicion of misappropriating public property and transferring their properties to foreign countries even after being implicated in corruption cases.

The duo have been kept under CIAA’s custody.

A team of police personnel deputed at the CIAA raided their residences at Shantinagar and Mandikhatar and seized some documents.

On October 2, 2023, the CIAA filed a corruption case against nine people including Paudel and incumbent government secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini in the National Payment Gateway purchase case.

The anti-graft body has accused them of causing loss to the state coffers and misusing government funds by purchasing the system at Rs250 million without preparing the necessary infrastructure and approving an unreasonable high estimate for the system purchase.

Likewise, a corruption case was filed at the Special Court against nine individuals including Paudel on April 17 last year.

The anti-graft body has accused them of being involved in irregularities of up to Rs690.88 million while procuring equipment for the printing press. The CIAA has accused them of being involved in the preparation and approval of an unnatural (inflated) cost estimate, accepting the supply of substandard electric transformers by going against the contract, and making payment for a generator produced in a country other than that specified in the contract.