The Special Court on Monday ordered former Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara to furnish bail of Rs100,000 in a corruption case linked to the high-profile vape gold smuggling scandal.

A division bench of judges Sudarshan Dev Bhatta and Bidur Koirala issued the order after Mahara appeared before the court.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed the corruption case on April 9 against 28 individuals and a company, naming Mahara, his son Rahul Mahara, joint secretary Arun Pokharel and others as defendants.

The anti-graft body has accused the defendants of colluding with a Chinese smuggling network to bring gold concealed inside electronic cigarettes and facilitating the clearance of the contraband after it arrived in Nepal in December 2022.

The CIAA has claimed a loss of Rs77.86 million and sought its recovery from the accused. It has also demanded fines and prison sentences against officials accused of negligence and collusion during the customs clearance process.

According to the charge sheet, smugglers hid around nine kilograms of gold inside 730 vape devices packed in 73 boxes and transported them from Dubai through Tribhuvan International Airport.

Investigators say Chinese national Li Hansong arrived in Kathmandu carrying the consignment, which was allegedly intended for a network led by another Chinese national, Daojin Wang. Customs officials seized the shipment after becoming suspicious, but much of the gold later disappeared from a sealed warehouse.

The CIAA alleges that Mahara and his son made repeated contacts with customs officials, intermediaries and members of the smuggling network in an effort to secure the release of the seized goods. Investigators say the original vape devices containing gold were later swapped with ordinary devices in collusion with customs personnel and middlemen.

The operation came to light after a security guard reportedly discovered gold inside one of the devices taken from the warehouse.

The case was initially investigated by the Central Investigation Bureau after airport customs officials reported the disappearance of the seized gold in 2023. While a smuggling case was filed earlier, Mahara, his son and Pokharel were not initially named as defendants.

Based on subsequent investigations, the CIAA later charged Mahara with abuse of public office and involvement in the organised smuggling operation.