KATHMANDU: The Special Court has ordered former Finance Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki to be released on Rs15 million bail in a corruption case related to the construction of Pokhara Regional International Airport.
A three-member bench comprising judges Narayan Prasad Poudel, Dilli Ratna Shrestha and Umesh Koirala issued the order on Sunday.
The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a case against Karki seeking recovery of more than Rs3.62 billion in damages.
The anti-graft body accused Karki of causing financial loss to the state by including provisions in the implementation agreement that allegedly granted tax and customs exemptions, including VAT, to the airport’s Chinese contractor, China CAMC Engineering, during his tenure as finance minister.
Karki denied the allegations, arguing that he had not introduced any new provisions but had only implemented the Nepal-China loan agreement.
The court concluded that the available evidence and circumstances did not warrant keeping Karki in custody while the case proceeds. It ordered his release on Rs15 million bail or an equivalent bank guarantee.
