Nepal’s long-troubled battle against corruption has entered a new and politically sensitive phase with fresh charges filed against senior officials linked to the Pokhara Regional International Airport, one of the country’s most ambitious infrastructure projects. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Nepal’s constitutional anti-graft body, has accused the airport project’s chief, Binesh Munakarmi, of illegally amassing wealth over more than two decades in public service, while a separate but related case implicates dozens of senior officials and a Chinese contractor in the alleged misuse of tens of millions of dollars.

At the center of the latest case is Munakarmi, head of the Pokhara Regional International Airport Project, who now faces charges at Nepal’s Special Court for allegedly accumulating illegal assets worth approximately $172,000 between 1998 and 2023. Though modest by international standards, the amount is significant in Nepal’s economic context and, more importantly, emblematic of a broader pattern of unexplained enrichment among public officials.

According to the CIAA, Munakarmi assumed public office in February 1998 and submitted his most recent asset declaration in December 2023. Investigators concluded that the assets accumulated during this period far exceeded what could reasonably be explained by his lawful income. In its charge sheet, the commission stated that it was unable to substantiate the source of the funds, describing the accumulation as “inconsistent and unnatural” when compared with legally declared earnings and property........

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