KATHMANDU: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed a corruption case worth Rs 158.85 million against former officials of the National Information Technology Center (NITC), including its then Executive Director Sunil Paudel.

CIAA spokesperson Rajendra Kumar Paudel confirmed that the case was registered at the Special Court, Kathmandu, on Friday.

The accused include former NITC Executive Director Sunil Paudel, then Director Safal Shrestha, Assistant Director Ramesh Pokharel, Computer Engineer Ramsharan Gayak, and then Accounts Officer Nim Bahadur Oli.

In addition, World Distribution Nepal Pvt. Ltd. and its Chairman and Managing Director Arun Shrestha have also been named as defendants.

According to CIAA, the defendants are charged under Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059 for supplying substandard storage systems with low-quality processors, in violation of procurement standards and pre-determined criteria.

The complaint alleges that forged documents were submitted to justify unrealistically high pricing, resulting in a payment of Rs 158.85 million from government funds, thereby causing deliberate harm to a public institution.

The CIAA claims that the act was carried out with malicious intent, involving fraudulent procurement and payment processes that directly violated legal and financial regulations.