ANANTA RAJ LUITEL

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority said today that the Director General of the Department of Foreign Employment Binod KC is under its scrutiny. “He is under close observation. If he does not cooperate with the anti-graft body in its investigation, he and several other high-ranking DoFE officials will face the music,” Bhawani Subedi, Press Coordinator for CIAA Chief Lokman Singh Karki, told THT.

According to Subedi, 40 to 50 per cent of DoFE staff may face serious action on a charge of corruption as labour approval was issued illegally to as many as 77 persons last year. According to the CIAA, almost all the DoFE staff were involved in irregularities while issuing labour approval illegally to aspiring migrant workers for Malaysia, Qatar and other Gulf countries.
The officials who were arrested yesterday had revealed that DG KC and other top officials were directly involved in issuing labour approval illegally.

“In their (who were arrested yesterday) defence, they pointed fingers at several other senior officials. So the CIAA came to the conclusion that most of the senior officials, including KC, should be kept under close scrutiny,” a CIAA source said.
“The officials have been making a bid to hide the original file. If they do not surrender with the file, they will face serious action,” another CIAA source said, adding that based on the statements of DoFE staff Deepak Prasad Khatiwoda, Chandrahari Luintel, Ram Bahadur Pokhrel and Oh Abdullah Makasud, who were arrested yesterday, the CIAA concluded that that DoFE was mired in institutional corruption. “They have been warned to come up with the original file or be ready to face the consequences. This has been done based on the statements recorded during today’s interrogation by investigation officers,” the source added.

Out of the 77 labourers who obtained labour approval last year illegally, 34 have already flown to various countries and the rest are on ‘the waiting list’ to fly. The source also added that the CIAA took the initiative in this case on its own as part of its crusade against corruption and that no complaint was filed with the anti-graft body in this regard.

Published on: 22 August 2013 | The Himalayan Times