KATHMANDU: The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has initiated an investigation into the French company IDEMIA, which was selected by the Department of Passport to print 2 million e-passports.
The probe follows allegations of financial embezzlement involving 3.1 million e-passport variations.
IDEMIA was awarded the contract on October 23, 2020, to produce 2 million e-passports at a cost of 21 million dollars.
Of this amount, 2.4 million dollars were allocated for establishing the necessary infrastructure for passport printing.
However, it appears that due to an agreement with an agent of the foreign company, this amount was not deducted from the total contract value.
Instead, passports were issued using variations, effectively inflating the cost.
The investigation has uncovered that there was collusion between the then Director General of the Passport Department and senior officials at the ministry.
Despite the contract being for 2 million passports, a total of 3.1 million passports were obtained from IDEMIA, leading to significant financial discrepancies.
Initially, a small number of passports were tendered for printing, with only 5 million passports allowed for production.
However, financial benefits were reportedly gained by the company’s agents, leading the department to begin using variations within 10 months of starting passport distribution.
Concerns were raised when the Accountant General questioned the purchase of an additional 300,000 passports with a 15% variation on September 8, 2022, at the same rate as previously agreed.
This scheme involved securing additional passports to meet distribution needs while circumventing the formal tendering process.
On June 27, 2023, the Council of Ministers approved the second variation, leading to the purchase of 280,000 passports at a cost of 10.13 million dollars.
Then Foreign Minister NP Saud, who was present during the decision, had initially suggested going through a new tender process. However, it is alleged that external influences led to the approval of the variation.
The ongoing investigation aims to uncover the full extent of the financial irregularities associated with the e-passport printing contract.
Sources said that the CIAA is focusing on the improper deduction of infrastructure costs and the misuse of passport variations, which have resulted in substantial financial losses.
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