The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed 201 cases in the Special Court against 1,554 individuals on corruption charges in the fiscal year 2023/24. The anti-graft body has sought penalties totaling Rs 8.4 billion from the defendants.
Of the 201 cases, 58 involved illegal benefits, 48 were related to bribery, 34 concerned fake academic certificates, 33 were about the misappropriation of public property, 13 involved revenue leakage, 11 were linked to illegal income, and four fell under other categories, according to the CIAA’s annual report for Fiscal Year 2023/24.
CIAA Chief Commissioner Prem Kumar Rai submitted the annual report to President Ram Chandra Paudel during a special function at the Office of the President on Sunday.
The number of individuals charged by the anti-graft body last year was more than double the previous year. According to the annual report of the CIAA, it filed 162 corruption cases against 766 individuals in FY 2022/23.
The report also noted that the CIAA has authorized chief district officers in 33 districts to conduct investigations into corruption charges.
During Fiscal Year 2023/24, the CIAA received 26,918 complaints nationwide through various channels. The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration accounted for the highest number of cases (38.91 percent), followed by the Ministry of Education (15.79 percent).
Apart from newly registered complaints last year, 9,268 complaints were carried forward from the pending ones of the previous year, making the total number at 36,186 complaints. The CIAA has claimed that it settled 76.59 percent of the cases through screening and preliminary investigations. (With inputs from RSS)