Deepak Sharma, a British citizen of Nepali origin, has admitted to violating the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of the USA during the procurement deal of wide-body aircraft for Nepal Airlines Corporation, the annual report of FCPA has revealed. The FCPA is a US federal law addressing corruption.

The indictment refers to Sharma as an "agent" of AAR Corporation, a US-based aviation services company specialising in aircraft sales and leasing. The report states that Sharma previously served as president of AAR's Integrated Solutions and is currently associated with Aircraft Finance Company in Germany.

Sharma played an active role as an "agent" in the procurement process of two wide-body Airbus A330-200 series aircraft purchased by Nepal Airlines from AAR Corporation for Rs 24 billion. Nepal Airlines acquired the aircraft through AAR Corporation, which acts as a leasing entity for Airbus aircraft. As AAR's representative, Sharma mediated the wide-body aircraft procurement and sales process.

The FCPA investigation report states that Sharma and his team bribed both Nepali and foreign government officials to secure the sale of aircraft to Nepal Airlines Corporation. Among those alleged to have received bribes was a senior official who served in the airline between 2015 and 2019.

The investigation report notes, "This facilitated the successful bid to sell two Airbus A330-200 aircraft." Sharma and his team allegedly opened bank accounts in countries including the United States, Ireland, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to facilitate bribes.

According to the FCPA report, Sharma mediated the transfer of approximately USD 2.5 million to Nepali and foreign officials as bribes, funnelling funds through accounts opened in various countries and using payments received from Nepal Airlines. At the time, the wide-body aircraft procurement deal was widely discussed, with allegations of significant financial irregularities making headlines.