KATHMANDU, May 14: All individuals holding positions at public offices are required to submit the details of the property they and their family members own to the designated authority within 60 days of assuming office and annually thereafter. However, it has been found that a senior official responsible for overseeing money laundering investigation and monitoring has violated the said regulation. Pushparaj Shahi, the director general of the Department of Money Laundering Investigation (DoMLI), has not submitted his property details for the fiscal year 2022/23.

The National Vigilance Center (NVC) submitted the list of property details submitted by the persons holding public offices to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on Monday. According to NVC sources, the property details of Shahi, the director general of the DoMLI, were missing from the list.

Senior officials of the NVC have expressed their surprise that the Director General of the DoMLI has not disclosed his property details. Shahi, the director general of the DoMLI, however claims that he has been regularly submitting the details. He said that there are established procedures to address any discrepancies. “There is a provision for imposing a fine of Rs 5,000 for non-compliance, but I have ensured that my submissions are up-to-date," Shahi said.

NVC Secretary Ram Aadhar Sah, Spokesperson Krishna Panth, Smita Sharma and other senior employees reached the office of the CIAA on Monday afternoon and submitted the property details to the Chief Commissioner of the CIAA Prem Kumar Rai and other commissioners.

In the statement, it has been found that the number and proportion of people submitting property statements has increased in the fiscal year 2022/23 as compared to the fiscal year 2021/22. According to the NVC, the number of officers and employees who submitted their property details within the stipulated time was 719,157 that is 98.6 percent in the year 2021/22, but in the year 2022/23 it has reached 739,768 i.e. 99.10 percent.

According to the NVC, the number of officials who failed to declare their assets in the year 2021/22 was 9,590, i.e. 1.32 percent, while the number of officials who did not declare their assets in the year 2022/23 was 6,705, i.e. 0.90 percent. Among those who did not declare their assets this year are two joint secretaries, 59 under secretaries, and 8 officers, in addition to Shahi.

NVC Spokesperson Krishna Panth said that the number of people submitting their property details has decreased this time. According to the NVC, the most non-compliant employees are those who do not disclose their property details. Out of 86,855 in the Nepali Army, all have submitted their details.

However, out of 115,037 individuals in Nepal Police, Armed Police, and Department of Investigation, 79 individuals failed to submit their property details. Similarly, 3,368 civil servants out of 75,789 and 831 teachers out of 89,602 have not submitted their property details.

Section 50 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059 BS stipulates that a person holding a post in public office must submit a statement of assets in their name and their family members within 60 days of their appointment and every fiscal year thereafter. There is a provision in the law that the NVC monitors whether officials and employees of all three levels of government have submitted their property details. There is a legal provision that imposes a fine of Rs 5,000 on a person who does not disclose his/her property details.

 
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