KATHMANDU: Former Minister and Nepali Congress leader Mohan Bahadur Basnet appeared before the Special Court today to record his statement in a major corruption case involving Rs 3.21 billion.

The court session is being held before a bench of Special Court members Tej Narayan Singh Raya, Ram Bahadur Thapa, and Bidur Koirala. Following the statement recording, a closed-door hearing is scheduled for later today.

Basnet, who currently serves as a Member of Parliament from Sindhupalchowk, faces charges of abuse of authority and financial misconduct filed by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).

The allegations claim that during his tenure as Minister of Communications, Basnet bypassed the authority of the Council of Ministers and directed the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) to operate the Traffic Monitoring and Fraud Control System (TERAMOX) project.

According to the CIAA investigation, the project’s equipment and systems were supplied by a consultant responsible for design, development, software installation, and supply. However, despite payments amounting to Rs 1.116 billion, no actual work was delivered.

Furthermore, the investigation revealed additional liabilities under the agreement, which caused further financial losses to the NTA, bringing the total implicated amount in the TERAMOX corruption case to Rs 3.25 billion.

Alongside Basnet, 15 other individuals have been charged, including former NTA chairmen Digambar Jha and Purushottam Khanal, board member Tika Prasad Upreti, several NTA directors and deputy directors, a consultant, and agents involved in the project.