KATHMANDU, June 19: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) is investigating suspected irregularities in the passport printing contract, focusing on the technical capacity of the contractor's servers, the specifications of the passport-printing machines, and possible manipulation of the tender process.
According to CIAA sources, the complainant has alleged irregularities amounting to more than Rs 1 billion in the procurement process. The complaint was also submitted to the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers.
Sources said officials at the Prime Minister's Secretariat treated the complaint seriously, particularly after the case became linked to former Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba and Siddhartha Thapa, son of Sunil Thapa, a member of the National Assembly.
According to sources, pressure from the Prime Minister's Secretariat prompted the CIAA to arrest Department of Passports (DoP) Director General Tirtha Raj Aryal and Information Technology Director Sunil Kumar KC on Monday.
The anti-graft body has also arrested two other individuals in connection with the case: Manindra Raj Malla, the Nepali representative of German company Muehlbauer, and Tulsi Prasad Acharya, the DoP's former accounts officer.
Last July, the DoP awarded passport printing contracts to two German companies, Muehlbauer and Veridos, in a procurement process that had been controversial from the outset.
CIAA summons former FM Dr Arzu Rana in passport printing corrup...
The department signed contracts worth more than Rs 7.5 billion with the two firms for the printing of nearly 6.4 million passports. Muehlbauer ID Services GmbH received a contract worth Rs 1.55 billion, while Veridos GmbH secured a contract worth Rs 6.11 billion. Under the agreements, the companies were required to complete passport printing by the end of the current fiscal year.
According to sources, CIAA investigators are examining whether the companies possessed the server capacity required to store and manage passport data, whether their printing machines met the technical qualifications specified in the tender documents, and why two separate companies were awarded contracts under different packages for work of a similar nature.
Sources said the contracts require the companies to print and deliver 6,000 passports per day to the department. Investigators are examining whether the contractors actually possess the technical capacity to meet that production target.
The contracts were awarded after the expiration of the DoP's agreement with its previous passport-printing contractor.
Before the latest deal, passport printing services had been contracted to the French company, IDEMIA. In 2020, the DoP signed a Rs 2.5 billion agreement with the company.
That procurement process also drew controversy. The new contracts were signed after the expiration of IDEMIA's agreement with the department. IDEMIA's local representative in Nepal is Delta Four, whose operator is Siddhartha Pandey.
CIAA Notice Issued to Arzu Rana Deuba
The CIAA has issued a notice to former Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba, asking her to appear before investigators within three days to record a statement in connection with the passport printing case.
The notice was posted at the Deuba residence in Budhanilkantha after CIAA officials visited the property on Tuesday. It states that legal action will be taken if she fails to appear within the specified period.
The notice reads: "In connection with the investigation of a complaint alleging corruption in passport printing-related activities, in which the Government of Nepal is the plaintiff and Arzu Rana Deuba and others are defendants, your statement is required. You are hereby instructed to appear before Division No. 12, Room No. 12, CIAA Headquarters, Tangal, Kathmandu, within three days of receiving this notice, excluding travel time. Failure to appear will result in action in accordance with the law."
In response, Deuba has reportedly sent an email to the CIAA stating that she cannot appear within the three-day deadline.
The Deuba residence in Budhanilkantha has remained damaged since the Gen Z protests of September 8 and 9, 2025, and the Deuba couple have not been living there since. Before traveling abroad, they had reportedly rented a house in Maharajgunj.
Sources said the couple are currently in Hong Kong for medical treatment.
Siddhartha Thapa, the Nepali representative of Veridos, is reportedly not in Nepal at present. According to sources, fearing possible arrest in connection with the investigation, he crossed into India by land a day before the CIAA launched its latest arrests.
