KATHMANDU: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case against Nepali Congress leader Santosh Chalise, former mayor of Gokarneshwar Municipality in Kathmandu.
The case was registered at the Special Court on Sunday, accusing Chalise, also a former Member of Parliament and chair of the parliamentary Finance Committee, of amassing illegal wealth.
According to the CIAA, Chalise held public office from May 22, 2017, to mid-July 2022. During this period, he is alleged to have made expenditures and investments far exceeding his lawful income.
The investigation found that Chalise and his immediate family earned a total lawful income of just over Rs 48.83 million. However, their total assets, expenses, and investments during the same period amounted to more than Rs 85.68 million.
The CIAA concluded that assets worth Rs 36.85 million could not be justified through legal sources and were therefore acquired illegally. The commission also stated that Chalise maintained an unusually high standard of living compared to his declared income.
The anti-graft body said documents and loan deeds submitted by Chalise during the investigation were created after the fact to mislead investigators, but failed to establish legitimate sources of income.
Based on these findings, the CIAA has sought imprisonment and fines equivalent to the claimed amount under Section 20 of the Corruption Prevention Act, 2002, along with confiscation of illegally acquired property. Additional penalties have also been sought for concealing actual details in asset declarations.
The CIAA has named Chalise’s wife Mandira Chalise, sons Sagar Chalise and Sanjeev Chalise, and daughter-in-law Pramila Pokhrel as defendants for the purpose of confiscating properties acquired or invested through illegal earnings.
The commission also stated that Chalise failed to submit his asset declaration for fiscal year 2020/21, and has informed Gokarneshwar Municipality to recover fines as per the law.
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