KATHMANDU: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has begun probing potential irregularities in the procurement of 2.8 million E-Passports, marking what could be one of Nepal’s largest corruption cases. The investigation is centered around a variation order awarded last year and involves a French company, IDEMIA.

The CIAA has asked the Department of Passport for details on the procurement process. This inquiry follows the annual report from the Office of the Auditor General, which flagged discrepancies in the payments made for the passport system. According to the report, the Department of Passport paid IDEMIA for both the booklets and the personalization system, although the variation order required payment only for the booklets.

Concerns have arisen over the government’s payment of USD $10.13 per passport, considering that IDEMIA was only responsible for supplying the booklets, with no IT system upgrades involved. Typically, passport procurement costs cover both the booklets and the IT infrastructure, but the variation order did not necessitate such comprehensive services.

The payment to IDEMIA may be a sign of public money theft, according to the Auditor General's report. Further issues are raised by the fact that IDEMIA has maintained a monopoly on passport supply to Nepal's Department of Passport since 2009.

For the past 15 years, IDEMIA has held exclusive rights for passport supplies, with reports of irregularities in variation orders dating back to 2012. It appears that IDEMIA consistently charged the Government of Nepal for the full system, even when only the booklets were required.

The issuance of variation orders for the acquisition of 6.6 million passports in the last fifteen years has raised questions regarding possible misappropriation and graft. The purpose of the continuing investigation is to determine if the purchase of these passports involved the misappropriation of public funds.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that three individuals, Elvin Chia, Gaurav Gupta, and Wee Liang Tan, represented IDEMIA and allegedly misled officials at the Department of Passport. These representatives may have played a significant role in influencing the procurement process.

As the CIAA conducts its investigation, the matter has increased attention on the Department of Passport's recent attempts to issue a call for bids for the procurement of E-Passports. There have been rumors circulating that IDEMIA internal personnel wrote the technical specifications for the Request for Proposal (RFP) for upcoming passport contracts.

Serious doubts concerning the integrity and transparency of Nepal's passport procurement process are raised by the nature of the variation orders and IDEMIA's long-standing monopoly. Reported overcharging by IDEMIA in past contracts raises the possibility of a long-standing pattern of possible malfeasance.

Given IDEMIA's market dominance, it is anticipated that the probe will shed light on the Department of Passport's contract handling practices as it moves forward. The outcome of this lawsuit may have a big impact on Nepal's future public procurement procedures.

The problem has received a lot of public attention as a result of the CIAA's inquiry and the Auditor General's report, with many people pushing for changes to procurement procedures. The case emphasizes how crucial accountability and openness are when managing government contracts.

The findings of the CIAA's inquiry might have a significant impact on how the government grants contracts and interacts with long-term vendors like IDEMIA in an effort to stop additional wrongdoing.

The government will probably come under more and more pressure to solve systematic problems with its procurement practices as the country's biggest anti-corruption organization takes up this case, guaranteeing that public monies are handled responsibly and openly moving forward.