Since the dawn of democracy in 1990 till the Gen Z massacre, ordinary citizens had been stuck navigating power cuts, broken roads, and endless lines for passports while oour political elites and corporate wizards had been busy transforming the state treasury into a personal ATM.
Here, the laws of gravity do not apply, but the rules of policy corruption certainly do. From selling your own neighbors as fake refugees to turning the Prime Minister’s neighborhood into private real estate plots, our leaders had mastered the art of the perfect getaway.
In this country, accountability is strictly allergic to air-conditioned VVIP hospital suites, and court cases move slower than a public bus climbing up the Prithvi Highway. So grab a cup of sweet chiya, sit back, and witness the legendary hall of shame where the republic is the product and our old school chor netas are the master illusionists.
The Dhamija Scam (1993)
Major Con Artists and Ringmasters
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and international middleman Dinesh Dhamija.
The Chronicle and Legal Destiny
The executive leadership decided that competitive bidding was far too stressful for a young democracy, so they bypassed open tenders entirely and handed the British-Indian businessman exclusive global sales rights for Nepal Airlines tickets.
The national carrier absorbed staggering financial losses while private foreign bank accounts experienced a massive growth spurt. Parliament erupted into chaos, but the Prime Minister wielded total administrative control, ensuring the investigative files vanished into thin air. The case evaporated completely, serving as a masterclass for future generations on how to use state infrastructure for private luxury.
The Lauda Air Scam (2001)
Major Con Artists and Ringmasters
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala making a triumphant return, Tourism Minister Tarani Dutt Chataut, and then Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation Hakims!
The Chronicle and Legal Destiny
The political elite leased a massive Boeing 767 from Austria’s Lauda Air without a single open tender, creating a massive financial black hole of over two billion rupees. The aircraft spent the vast majority of its lease period sitting on the Kathmandu tarmac accumulating bird droppings and dust rather than actually flying passengers.
The anti-corruption watchdog attempted a public display of enforcement, but the judicial machinery operates on a glacial timeline. Decades later, the highest court in the land quietly handed out clean chits or allowed the legal clock to run down to zero, officially cementing the system of sharing state spoils.
The Sudan APC Scam (2011)
Major Con Artists and Ringmasters
Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula who initialed the procurement, subsequent Home Ministers Bamdev Gautam and Bhim Rawal who authorized the payments, and three consecutive Police Chiefs Om Bikram Rana, Hem Bahadur Gurung, and Ramesh Chand Thakuri.
The Chronicle and Legal Destiny
The administration sent brave police officers to a highly volatile UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur, Sudan, equipped with Armored Personnel Carriers that arrived with rusted engines, zero spare parts, and the structural integrity of thin cardboard. Over three hundred million rupees evaporated during the transaction.
When the investigative committees began looking into the fraud, the political leadership deployed a flawless bureaucratic shield, claiming the funds belonged to a police welfare repository and thus bypassed ministerial accountability. The anti-corruption watchdog completely exempted the politicians from the formal charge sheet, choosing instead to sentence the three uniform-wearing police chiefs to actual prison terms.
The Wide-Body Aircraft Scam (2018)
Major Con Artists and Ringmasters
Tourism Minister Jeevan Bahadur Shahi, the late Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari, and the ever-present aviation executive Sugat Ratna Kansakar.
The Chronicle and Legal Destiny
The state airline decided to purchase two Airbus A330 wide-body jets, but instead of buying them directly from the manufacturer, they channeled the transaction through a confusing web of European shell companies to artificially inflate the price tag by over four billion rupees.
The aircraft safely landed in Kathmandu, only for engineers to realize they lacked the weight capacities required for long-haul routes, completely banning them from entering European airspace. The anti-corruption watchdog eventually filed charges against dozens of individuals, and while the Special Court handed down convictions to lower-tier administrative workers, the primary political planners remain completely undisturbed at home while the appeal files gather dust.
The 33kg and 60kg Gold Smuggling Scams (2018 & 2023)
Major Con Artists and Ringmasters
Ground-level syndicate manager Chuda Mani Upreti alias Gore, political heavyweight Krishna Bahadur Mahara, and his immediate family members.
The Chronicle and Legal Destiny
The nation's main international airport customs gate was successfully converted into an open transit lounge for global smuggling cartels. Thirty-three kilograms of gold completely vanished in 2018, leaving behind a trail of gangland executions, while another sixty kilograms rolled smoothly through security in 2023 packed inside motorcycle brake shoes.
When the police finally detained the senior political figures involved, the suspects immediately developed acute medical emergencies, allowing them to serve out their brief detention inside comfortable, air-conditioned hospital luxury suites. The low-level couriers are currently occupying prison cells, while the real international financiers are living comfortably abroad.
The Lalita Niwas Land Grab Scam (2019-)
Major Con Artists and Ringmasters
Former Prime Ministers Madhav Kumar Nepal and Baburam Bhattarai, land syndicate masterminds Shobhakant Dhakal and Ram Kumar Subedi, and supermarket billionaire Min Bahadur Gurung.
The Chronicle and Legal Destiny
A highly sophisticated syndicate used forged history logs, ghost names, and coordinated cabinet decrees to systematically steal over one hundred and forty-three ropanis of prime land surrounding the Prime Minister's official residence, carving it up into private real estate plots.
The anti-corruption watchdog filed lawsuits against a massive army of individuals but explicitly stated that the two former Prime Ministers could not be prosecuted because cabinet policy decisions are legally holy and untouchable. The supermarket billionaire spent a microscopic amount of time in custody, posted a pocket-change bail amount, and went straight back to opening massive new retail branches across the country.
The Omni COVID-19 Procurement Scam (2020)
Major Con Artists and Ringmasters
Health Minister Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal and the executive inner circle of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
The Chronicle and Legal Destiny
While the entire population was locked inside their homes under strict lockdown orders, the executive branch handpicked an unqualified, shady IT firm called Omni Business Corporate to import medical kits and testing devices from China at astronomical prices, many of which arrived completely defective. Public outrage reached such dangerous heights that the administration was forced to terminate the contract and place the firm on a blacklist for exactly twelve months. No assets were seized and no individual faced jail time, resulting in nothing more than a brief, one-year paid vacation from bidding on lucrative state contracts.
The Giri Bandhu Tea Estate Land Swap Scam (2021-)
Major Con Artists and Ringmasters
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli who executed the legislative changes, real estate tycoon Deepak Malhotra, and the ancestral Giri family barons.
The Chronicle and Legal Destiny
The government executed a customized amendment to the national Land Act, allowing the wealthy owners of a massive tea estate in a booming commercial hub to swap their highway-adjacent land worth over one hundred billion rupees with cheap, worthless soil in a remote corner of the country, freeing up the commercial jackpot for real estate sharks.
The Supreme Court's Constitutional Bench ruined the celebration by completely annulling the cabinet's decision, labeling it policy corruption. Undeterred by the judiciary, the political class has spent the subsequent years introducing new bills and local land ordinances to bypass the court's restrictions, maintaining an ongoing trench war over the property.
The Fake Bhutanese Refugee Scam (2023)
Major Con Artists and Ringmasters
Former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand, former Deputy Prime Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, and Home Secretary Tek Narayan Pandey.
The Chronicle and Legal Destiny
High-ranking state officials established fake government sub-committees and systematically altered official refugee archives to transform native, passport-holding Nepali citizens into fake Bhutanese refugees in exchange for millions of rupees per head, promising them resettlement in the United States.
This absolute peak of institutional greed meant the state was actively human trafficking its own population. While the Deputy Prime Minister remains entangled in an organized crime trial, the Home Minister successfully secured his bail, walking out of the prison gates to a grand celebration filled with flower garlands and cheering political party workers.
The TERAMOCS Telecom Scam (2024-)
Major Con Artists and Ringmasters
Former Information and Communications Minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet and the senior executives of the Nepal Telecommunications Authority.
The Chronicle and Legal Destiny
The regulatory authority bypassed mandatory public procurement standards to wire over three billion rupees of state funds to a murky offshore firm for a traffic monitoring system that was secretly designed to log and intercept citizens' private communications.
The anti-corruption watchdog dropped a massive hammer on the deal, filing a formal corruption case at the Special Court and demanding the total recovery of the funds. The Communications Minister was automatically suspended from his parliamentary seat and had to show up in court to post a multi-million rupee bail. The high-tech tracking system remains frozen over massive constitutional privacy violations, gathering dust while the lawyers argue over technical definitions.
Jai Nepal!