Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - The Nepalese army and the highest offices in the country gotten rich at the expense of the UN humanitarian mission in Darfur. This is the charge of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), which yesterday launched investigations against 34 senior police officers, two former ministers and the current Minister of Interior. The media descrive it as the biggest corruption case in the history of the country. The name of the late Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, the Nepali Congress Party leader who has steered the country toward democracy also appears in documentation. Following the allegations all the officials involved have been suspended from duty for two years.
According to the CIAA, in recent years police officers and politicians had organized a network to speculate on the costs of the Nepalese Army in Darfur (Sudan), with false purchases of vehicles, equipment for logistics and weapons, with an estimated value exceeding 1.5 million euro. But the CIAA notes that by the end of the investigation the value will exceed 10 million.
Rabindra Pratap Shah, the new head of the Nepalese police, said he was "shocked by the news that humiliates and makes mockery of the country in the eyes of citizens and the international community."
According to experts, the continuing cases of corruption in high ranking state positions also are due to political instability in the country. Since 2007, Nepal is without a constitution and is governed by a provisional government. In 2010 inflation reached 13% and the lack of security is discouraging foreign investment.