KATHMANDU: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority has served a summons at the Budhanilkantha residence of Arzu Rana Deuba, asking her to appear for questioning in connection with an investigation into alleged irregularities in the procurement of electronic passports.
Following the delivery of the summons, Rana responded to the anti-graft body via email from abroad, stating that she is currently undergoing medical treatment and is therefore unable to appear immediately.
“I am ready to cooperate with the investigation. However, I cannot be present at this time due to health treatment,” she said in her response.
The CIAA had directed Rana to appear within three days, excluding travel time, after formally serving the notice at her residence.
According to reports, her husband, former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, is also currently abroad, having travelled through Singapore and now staying in Hong Kong.
Sources familiar with the investigation say the CIAA has not found evidence of any written directive or decision directly involving Rana in the passport procurement process during her tenure as foreign minister. Investigators have likewise not established proof of involvement by higher-level political authorities in the procurement decisions, which were handled primarily at the departmental level.
The investigation was launched after complaints alleged that Rana and her son, Jaiveer Deuba, were involved in coordinating aspects of the passport printing contract, including project design, packaging and dealings with the contractor.
According to the CIAA, records indicate that Jaiveer Deuba, Siddhartha Thapa, and former Department of Passports Director General Tirtha Raj Aryal met before the passport tender process moved forward.
Complaints filed with the CIAA, parliamentary committees and other agencies have alleged procedural irregularities in the technical evaluation stage of the tender. One allegation claims that while the tender documents required bidders to provide blade servers, the selected company proposed rack servers instead.
The CIAA’s investigation into the e-passport procurement process is ongoing.
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