KATHMANDU: An investigation committee formed by the Ministry of Information and Communications has submitted a report revealing financial irregularities of approximately over Rs 205 million in Nepal Television’s (NTV) satellite bandwidth procurement.

Presented to Communications Minister Bikram Timilsina, the report highlights severe violations of the Public Procurement Act and Rules, such as renewing contracts without competitive bidding, making payments before service initiation, overpaying after services commenced, and purchasing excess bandwidth based on artificially inflated cost estimates.

The probe exposed systemic failures dating back to the 2012 core agreement, including selecting a technically disqualified bidder, purchasing bandwidth from a provider whose satellite was nearing the end of its design life, and neglecting tax obligations.

The committee has recommended legal action against NTV’s board members and top management involved in these decisions, which also led to a 30-minute broadcast blackout of NTV channels in June 2022.