Immigration Employee and US Citizen Charged with Corruption

Kathmandu. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority has filed a corruption case against an employee of the Department of Immigration and a US citizen. The Commission filed a charge sheet at the Special Court, Kathmandu on Monday on charges of misusing the government information system to provide illegal visas. The Commission stated that Rajiv Mahato, the then computer operator (senior immigration assistant) of the non-tourist branch of the Department of Immigration, misused the 'traveller centralization' facility of the immigration information system called 'Nepali Port'. Investigation revealed that Mahato transferred the residential visa already issued in the name of Luxembourg citizen Paul Christian Pierre Geditz to the name of US citizen Dean Jay Robinson without completing the necessary procedures and without depositing revenue, according to a statement issued by the Commission. During the investigation, it was found that Mahato, without the decision of any authorized official, corrected, tampered with, and added/deleted government records in the system and entered fake details. Based on those forged details, the US citizen Robinson had been illegally residing in Nepal by affixing the visa to his passport. The Commission has demanded punishment and fines against employee Rajiv Mahato under Sections 9 and 11 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059. Similarly, US citizen Dean Jay Robinson has been demanded punishment of imprisonment and fine equivalent to the main offender under Section 22 of the same Act for abetting corruption and gaining illegal benefits by luring government employees, informed Commission Spokesperson Suresh Neupane.