News Summary
Reviewed Content.
- Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) confirms that senior vice president of Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Vikram Pandey’s company hacked the e-bidding system and lowered the bid price by Rs 7 crore.
- CIB has filed a case against 22 individuals, including computer operator Diwakar Deuja and other company officials, at Kathmandu District Court.
- Investigations reveal transactions via cryptocurrency for contract manipulation and unauthorized access to PPMO servers resulting in tampering with bidding documents.
April 27, Kathmandu — Kalika Construction Pvt. Ltd., associated with senior vice president of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and former minister Vikram Pandey, has been found to have hacked the e-bidding system and reduced the bid amount by Rs 7 crore.
After nearly two months of investigation, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) has revealed that Kalika Construction initially placed a bid of Rs 67 crore for the construction of the Bakaiya River bridge along the Mahendra Highway.
However, unauthorized access to the e-bidding system led to the bid amount being reduced to Rs 60 crore.
The investigation indicates that the tampering was carried out in collusion with computer operator Diwakar Deuja, an employee at the Urban and Building Construction Project office in Dhankuta branch.
According to the CIB, using the username ‘Kalika’, Deuja accessed a parallel server to gain unauthorized entry into the Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO)’s e-Government Procurement system. He viewed confidential bid details to alter the financial proposals and secure contract awards.
A CIB investigation officer stated that the financial details were modified even after the bid registration deadline had passed, reducing the original Rs 67 crore offer to Rs 60 crore.
During the statements, Vikram Pandey denied any involvement of himself or his company. He claimed that company employee Surendra Pandey worked confidentially on the bidding process and no modifications were made on the bids.
“Someone might be trying to defame me and my company; therefore, the investigation should examine this angle,” he said.
However, Kalika Construction did not receive the contract. CIB disclosed that other companies employed similar methods of altering financial proposals after deadlines to secure contracts.
‘The Rigging had been ongoing for Two Years’
According to the CIB, since 2023 this group had unauthorized access to the PPMO e-GP system, tampering with details of bids submitted via the e-tendering platform.
The investigation shows that the bidding prices were manipulated by accessing a VPS server taken for testing purposes on the Datab Hub Pvt. Ltd.’s cloud server.
Police stated the accused examined confidential bid details to rig contracts, lowered the prices in proposals, and conducted financial transactions in return.
Key Planner a Government Employee
The CIB identified 33-year-old computer operator Diwakar Deuja, employed at the Urban and Building Construction Project, Dhankuta branch, as the chief planner of this scheme.
According to CIB AIG Dr. Manoj KC, Deuja accessed the system unauthorizedly even after the bid deadline, viewed details of competing companies, and revised proposals to offer the lowest price favoring his clients.
The investigation found that he bargained with contractor companies over amounts and upon agreement, accessed online bids to modify details accordingly.
Deuja is reported to have hacked the IMS server using programming, cloud server, and PHP tools, creating backdoors. He used the fake identity ‘Jeevan Limbu’ to communicate with contractors via WhatsApp and email.
Earlier, in June 2020 (Ashad 2077), Deuja was arrested in connection with hacking Nepal Telecom’s mobile app server, causing damage to telecom revenue and reputation. He was later released by court order.
Transactions through Cryptocurrency
The investigation report revealed that contract rigging payments were made via cryptocurrency.
Accused Bhaskar Raj Aryal reportedly made Bitcoin payments through contacts in the United States to settle cash in Nepal, according to police sources.
Documents found during the investigation show demands for payments to secure contracts by altering financial proposals. According to the charge sheet, accused Sanjay Bhatt transferred Bitcoin equivalent to Rs 13 lakh in the first installment and Rs 10 lakh in the second.
Sanjay Bhatt is the director of Soli Thumka Construction Services Pvt. Ltd. Both Sagar Kutuwal and Bhaskar Raj Aryal admitted to conducting cryptocurrency transactions as well.
Case Filed Against 22 Individuals
CIB has registered a case against 22 people at Kathmandu District Court related to this case.
The defendants include Diwakar Deuja, Vikram Pandey, Sanjay Bhatt, Sagar Kutuwal, Bhaskar Raj Aryal, along with directors and employees of various construction companies.
They face charges related to unauthorized access to electronic systems, organized crime, and cryptocurrency-related offenses.
The investigation began with Deuja’s arrest on February 11. So far, 13 people have been detained while others remain fugitives.
