The Special Court on Tuesday handed down a nine-year jail term and Rs230 million fine on former managing director of Nepal Telecom Sunil Paudel for corruption while procuring the National Payment Gateway system.

A division bench of Special Court Chairperson Tek Narayan Kunwar and member Murari Babu Shrestha also ordered to recover the misused amount from him.

On April 19, the bench had convicted Paudel of causing loss to the state coffers and misusing government funds. The court had scheduled a hearing on Tuesday to determine the punishment.

Paudel has been sent to Dillibazar prison following the court’s order.

Paudel was charged as per Section 17 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 2002.

Section 17 states that whoever being a public servant, misappropriates, causes loss to or abuses or causes others to do so, or destroys or uses for personal purposes, while performing his/her duties pertaining to his/her office, shall be liable to be punished pursuant to Section 3 and the property which has been misappropriated, damaged, misused or destroyed or caused others to do so, shall be recovered from him/her.

In the verdict, the court had acquitted eight other accused, including government secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini.

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

The anti-graft body had 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.

The court findings showed that the defendant’s failure to fulfil his responsibility and put the software to proper use had caused financial loss to the government.