Kathmandu, June 19: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has issued a public notice summoning two German companies and their authorized representatives to appear before the anti-graft body in connection with an investigation into the procurement of Nepal’s electronic Machine Readable Travel Documents (eMRTDs).
The notice, published on June 19, 2026, was issued pursuant to Section 43 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2002.
According to the CIAA, the commission has already sent official emails to the concerned companies and signatories of the contract agreements. Through the public notice, it has directed them to appear either in person or virtually at the CIAA office in Tangal, Kathmandu, on the date and time specified in the official communication.
The investigation relates to two procurement packages of the eMRTD system under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The first package concerns the procurement of the eMRTDs system, including the pre-enrollment, enrollment, data management and delivery system (Package I). The notice names Muehlbauer ID Services GmbH, based in Roding, Germany, along with its representatives Gerhard Maurer and Pavle Rakic.
The second package involves the procurement of eMRTD booklets with personalization, quality control and packing system (Package II). The CIAA has summoned Veridos GmbH, headquartered in Munich, Germany, and its representatives Fabiola Bellersheim and Florian Pacquelin.
The anti-corruption body warned that failure to comply with the notice and appear as directed would result in further legal action in accordance with the prevailing laws of Nepal.
The CIAA, however, has not disclosed further details regarding the nature of the alleged irregularities, stating only that the investigation concerns the procurement process of the eMRTD projects.
The CIAA has already detained Director General of Passport Department Mr Tirtha Raj Aryal, and local agents for German service providers. Even, the CIAA has sent a letter to former Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Arzu Rana Deuba to appear personally in the CIAA and submit her statement.
According to sources, Dr Arzu Rana wrote an email to the CIAA and ready to cooperate but denied to appear before the CIAA now. #nepal #ciaa
