KATHMANDU: The Special Court has sentenced former Nepal Telecom Managing Director Sunil Paudel to eight-and-a-half years in prison after finding him guilty in a corruption case involving illegal wealth.
The verdict, delivered on Thursday, also imposes a fine of Rs 15.425 million on Paudel, who previously served as the Executive Director of the National Information Technology Center.
A bench comprising Special Court Chair Sudarshan Dev Bhatta and members Hemanta Rawal and Dilliratna Shrestha ruled that Paudel would serve an additional six months in prison under Section 24 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2002, as the offence was committed while he held a public office.
The court also convicted co-accused Deepak Anand, sentencing him to eight years in prison and imposing a fine of Rs 15.425 million.
According to the court, evidence, including communications included in the case file, established that the two had agreed to receive and pay a bribe of USD 280,000, equivalent to Rs 30.85 million at the prevailing exchange rate at the time.
However, the court noted that the alleged bribe amount was never recovered, and investigators were unable to establish where the money was kept or in which bank it had been deposited.
The court further ordered both convicts to contribute Rs 617,008 each to the Victim Relief Fund in accordance with Section 41(3) of the Crime Victim Protection Act, 2018.
The Special Court said it has released only a summary of the verdict for now, adding that the full text of the judgment will be made public after its preparation.
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