KATHMANDU: The Special Court has convicted 17 of the 36 accused in the Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) misappropriation case.

The court ruled that corruption charges against 17 PAF employees had been substantiated. Likewise, the court acquitted 19 others accused in the case.

A division bench led by Special Court Chairman Shrikant Paudel along with members Yamuna Bhattarai and Dr. Khushi Prasad Tharu on Thursday acquitted 19 people, including the then PAF Executive Director Raju Babu Shrestha.

According to Spokesperson for the Special Court Dipendranath Yogi, then Executive Director Shrestha, Finance and Administration Chief Manoj Chipalu, Accounts officers Dilip Joshi and Prabin Ghimire, Accounts assistant Satish Choudhary, Environmental Officer Abishesh Neupane have been acquitted.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a corruption case at the Special Court against the then 36 PAF officials, including PAF finance and administration chief, 31 portfolio managers, three account officers, an environmental officer, and an account assistant, in April 2016.

The anti-corruption body had accused that the officials in cahoots with each other embezzled a sum of Rs 43.49 million from the state coffers in three fiscal years (2009/10-2011/12).

It had charged them of producing fake bills and other documents while settling accounts of advances to claim the sum from the Fund.