KATHMANDU: The Special Court has released Siddharth Thapa, one of the defendants in the passport procurement corruption case, on a regular date.
A joint bench of Special Court Chairman Basudev Acharya and member Hemanta Rawal ordered the release of Thapa, who is the Nepal representative of the German company Veridos.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed the case at the Special Court on June, alleging corruption in the procurement of e-passports.
According to the CIAA, the Department of Passports paid Rs 184.4 million to Veridos, the company responsible for printing passports, while no payment was made to Mühlbauer, the company responsible for supplying the equipment.
Following the payment of about Rs 185 million, the CIAA filed a corruption case seeking recovery of Rs 10.13 billion, the amount involved in the passport procurement contract.
The court has also released the former Director General of the Department of Passports on bail of Rs 500,000.
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