The court has ordered the law enforcement agencies to recover the amount from the defendant. [break]
A bench comprising of the Special Court´s Chairman Gauri Bahadur Karki and members Om Prakash Mishra and Kedar Prasad Chalise issued the verdict after they found that Shrestha caused losses to the TEPC by paying Rs 1.32 million to Sansar Media Private Limited against the Public Procurement Act, 2063 BS, and Public Procurement Regulation, 2064 BS.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a case against Shrestha on March 25, accusing him of illegitimately pocketing Rs 5.85 million.
The CIAA had accused Shrestha of illegally acquiring Rs 126,000 as travel and daily allowances by tampering with documents after the secretary of the concerned ministry refused to approve the budget for his foreign trip. Similarly, the anti-graft body had accused Shrestha of accruing Rs 4.43 million by appointing five more officials in addition to 13 approved by a board meeting.
Shrestha, who had served as a manager of the state-owned Nepal Telecom for 32 years, had retired on January 15, 2009. He was appointed Acting Executive Director of the TEPC on July 3, 2008 through a cabinet decision.
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