29 May 2001KATHMANDU – Nepal's Commission for the Investigation the Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has filed corruption cases against ten officials including former Nepal's tourism minister Tarini Dutta Chataut and two senior officials of Austria's Lauda Air for "corruption and irregularities" amounting to Rs.380.3 million (US$5.11 million).
Others include the executive chairman of Royal Nepal Airlines (RNAC) Hari Bhakta Shrestha and board director Tirtha Lal Shrestha.
The six-month investigation had also involved Nepal's prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala who recently challenged the Commission's authority to question him in a letter.
Ten opposition parties have called a three-day nation-wide strike calling for Koirala's resignation for his alleged involvement in leasing a Boeing 767 aircraft to RNAC at inflated prices.