Pokhara Airport scam: Ex-minister, Chinese firm charged in ₹3.62B corruption case
Synopsis
Nepal's anti-graft body has now filed four corruption cases in eighteen months over Pokhara International Airport — a $215.96 million Chinese-financed project with no scheduled flights. The latest filing names a sixth former minister and charges a Chinese firm and its executives directly, making it one of Nepal's most expansive cross-border corruption prosecutions.
Key Takeaways
The CIAA filed its fourth corruption case related to Pokhara International Airport on 7 May 2025 .
Former finance minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki is the sixth former minister charged in the scam; 11 public officials total are named.
Chinese contractor China CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd. and its executives Wang Bo and Yang Zhigang are charged with abetting corruption.
Defendants allegedly caused losses of NPR 3.62 billion in government revenue through illegally granted tax exemptions.
The airport, built with $215.96 million from the China Export-Import Bank , currently operates no scheduled flights .
Nepal's anti-corruption authority on Thursday, 7 May filed a fresh corruption case at the Special Court in Kathmandu against former finance minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, current and former senior government officials, Chinese contractor China CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd., and its top executives over alleged financial irregularities during the construction of Pokhara International Airport in western Nepal. The case, filed by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), marks the fourth such corruption filing related to the multi-million-dollar project over the past one and a half years.
Key Charges and Accused
The CIAA has charged a total of 11 public officials, including former finance minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, several former government secretaries, joint secretaries, and other officials. Karki becomes the sixth former minister to be named as a defendant in the Pokhara airport corruption scam. Earlier, former ministers Bhim Acharya, Ram Kumar Shrestha, Dipak Amatya, Ram Sharan Mahat, and Post Bahadur Bogati — who has since passed away — had also been charged.
On the contractor's side, China CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd. Chairman Wang Bo and Project Manager Yang Zhigang have been charged with assisting public officials in committing corruption, making this one of the few instances in Nepal where a foreign company and its executives have been directly indicted in a corruption case.
The Alleged Corruption Mechanism
According to the CIAA, public officials and the Chinese contractor allegedly colluded to illegally grant tax and customs exemptions to China CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd. in direct violation of the original procurement agreement. The anti-graft body stated that the commercial contract signed between the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and the Chinese firm had already incorporated taxes, customs duties, and other fees within the contract price, legally obligating the contractor to bear those payments under Nepali law.
However, the CIAA alleged that an additional implementation agreement was subsequently introduced to exempt the company from those payments — effectively allowing it to receive what the authority described as a
Point of View
Not just individual misconduct. The direct indictment of a Chinese state-linked contractor and its executives is politically significant at a moment when Beijing's infrastructure diplomacy across South Asia is under growing scrutiny. Nepal's ability to prosecute foreign nationals through its Special Court will be closely watched. The deeper question is whether the CIAA's serial filings translate into convictions and revenue recovery, or whether they remain performative accountability in a country where high-profile cases have historically stalled.
NationPress
28 Jun 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Pokhara International Airport corruption case?
It is a multi-layered corruption scandal involving the construction of Pokhara International Airport in Nepal, financed by $215.96 million from the China Export-Import Bank and built by China CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd. The CIAA has alleged that public officials and the Chinese contractor colluded to illegally grant tax and customs exemptions, causing losses of NPR 3.62 billion in government revenue.
Who has been charged in the latest CIAA filing?
The latest case names former finance minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, 10 other public officials including former secretaries and joint secretaries, Chinese contractor China CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd., its Chairman Wang Bo, and Project Manager Yang Zhigang. This is the fourth such case filed by the CIAA over the past one and a half years.
How many former ministers have been charged in the Pokhara airport scam?
Six former ministers have now been charged in total: Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, Bhim Acharya, Ram Kumar Shrestha, Dipak Amatya, Ram Sharan Mahat, and Post Bahadur Bogati, who has since passed away.
Why is Pokhara International Airport considered a vanity project?
Despite being built at a cost of $215.96 million financed by China, Pokhara International Airport currently has no scheduled flights operating from it, raising serious questions about the project's feasibility, planning, and the motivations behind its construction and financing.
What was the alleged mechanism of corruption?
According to the CIAA, the original contract between the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal and China CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd. already included taxes and customs duties within the contract price. An additional implementation agreement was later introduced to exempt the Chinese company from those payments, allowing it to receive what the CIAA called a double benefit, causing NPR 3.62 billion in losses to the Nepali government.
