Lawyers pleading for NAC´s suspended Executive Chairman Sugat Ratna Kansakar and five other officials, who have been charged with corruption in the Airbus purchase deal, claim that the case has been weakened following Airbus Company´s decision. [break]
But lawyers pleading against Kansakar say the company´s decision makes no difference.
Meanwhile, officials at the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) have termed Airbus Company´s decision to send back lockup money an “achievement". CIAA officials, however, are skeptical about the authenticity of a letter sent by Airbus in this connection.
In October, 2009, NAC decided to buy two Airbus aircraft and forwarded US$750,000 (equivalent to Rs 57.3 million) in lockup money to the manufacturer.
Bhimarjun Acharya, who has been pleading for Kansakar, said, “CIAA´s main claim of loss incurred to the country by NAC´s decision to send lockup money has been undermined by the refund decision.”
Asked how non-refundable commitment money could be refunded, Acharya said, “The company has said it decided to refund the lockup money, taking into account the difficulties facing NAC officials.”
Asked about CIAA´s claim that Kansakar abused his authority by sending the lockup money without approval from NAC´s board of directors, he said, “Kansakar was legally authorized to send commitment money.”
Hari Upreti, who has been pleading for NAC Managing Director Kul Bahadur Limbu and against Kansakar, said, “The company´s decision to send back the money doesn´t affect the case. The issue is whether or not the deal was legal and there was corruption at the time of the decision [to send lockup money].”
Upreti further said any move taken before or after the case was filed cannot affect a pending case.
Dilli Raman Acharya, a CIAA investigation officer who probed the case, said, “If crime is established in the case, Kansakar can be jailed. This issue is not only financial corruption. Whether he abused his authority in deciding to send the lockup money is equally important.”
He further claimed that the Airbus decision to send back lockup money, provided it was genuine, has substantiated CIAA´s main claim, that the deal incurred a loss to the country.
“It seems Kansakar and the others realized their mistake. They had been claiming that their decision to send lockup money was legal. However, the decision to refund money at Kansakar´s request proves they were wrong and the CIAA was right.”
The anti-graft body also filed suit against Acting Assistant General Managers Raju Bahadur KC and Ganesh Thakur, Acting Director Gyanendra Purush Dhakal, Director Mayur Sumsher Rana and Acting Deputy Director Keshav Raj Sharma, concluding that they had abetted Kansakar over the deal.
The CIAA has sought 8-10 years imprisonment for Kansakar and 4-5 years for the others.
Related story
Airbus to refund lockup money: NAC
-1778925320.webp)
