Blinded by gold

Ruling and opposition parties continue to bicker over the gold scam probe amid a sinking economy.

The investigation of twin gold scams concerning the hauls of 61kg and 9kg of the yellow metal, respectively, which were smuggled into the country via the Tribhuvan International Airport, is going nowhere. Not for lack of effort. The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police has, by all accounts, undertaken a credible investigation and produced voluminous books of evidence. Even if there were to be prosecution based solely on this evidence, perhaps a lot of headway could be made in settling these cases. But once again it is politics that is preventing such an outcome. A month after agreeing to form a commission to oversee the whole investigation, the ruling and opposition parties continue to bicker over its terms of reference. While the ruling parties are in favour of giving greater weight to the CIB investigation in order not to undermine the work of a vital state institution, the CPN-UML, the main opposition, is vehement that the new commission should have the final say. The UML says that while the CIB’s work is commendable, it does not trust the government and its agencies to get to the bottom of the matter.