At least 10 more staffers, including some senior officials, of the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) are under the scanner of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), officials from both the CIAA and the DoFE revealed on Wednesday.

The anti-graft body arrested six staffers, including director Ramesh Mainali, from the DoFE on Tuesday on charges of preparing fake documents to send 77 individuals for overseas jobs. Sources close to the CIAA said the anti-graft body had tried to arrest DoFE Director General (DG) Binod KC too, but the latter was spared after he promised to visit the CIAA with relevant documents if need be. “All officials in the final approval division of the Department and the DG could be involved in this case. They will be caught in the second phase and after the preliminary investigations,” a source at the CIAA said. 

Assistant-spokesperson at the CIAA, Keshav Ghimire, said the DG might be dragged into the case if he is found guilty during the investigations. “In some cases, the director has to approve decisions in the absence of the DG, but usually, the official process will not be complete until the chief of the office approves the files. As such, we are interrogating the officials and will act accordingly,” said Ghimire.

Senior DoFE officials said a letter sent by the CIAA names 15 officials in the final approval division of the department for issuing the final approval. They, however, refused to name the officials. The CIAA, according to DoFE officials, did not arrest other officials upon the request of the DoFE and line ministries.

CIAA custody overcrowded

With the rising number of arrests in recent times, the CIAA custody has become overcrowded. It now holds double the number of people it's capacity. This week, the CIAA arrested 38 individuals, including Nepal Electricity Authority Managing Director Rameshwor Yadav, on corruption charges. CIAA officials say the anti-graft body’s detention facility can accommodate only 17 persons. After complaints from the arrestees, the CIAA has shifted many of them to police cells in different parts of the Capital, CIAA assistant-spokesperson Keshav Ghimire said.

Published on: 22 August 2013 | The Kathmandu Post