Assets Investigation Commission Active: Investigating assets at home and abroad

The property investigation commission formed by the government has officially started its work. Commission Chairman Rajendra Kumar Bhandari was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Chief Justice Sapna Pradhan Malla on Wednesday. After swearing in Bhandari, other members of the Commission; Former Chief Justice of the Appellate Court Purushottam Parajuli, former High Court Judge Chandiraj Dhakal, former Deputy Inspector General of Police Ganesh KC and Chartered Accountant Prakash Lamsal administered the oath.

After that, their team started working from the office of the Commission established in Kesarmahal. The commission, which has a mandate of one year, will carry out a detailed investigation of the assets held in the country and abroad in the name of the officials who have held public office, retired or left office and their families. Rajendra Kumar Bhandari, chairman of the commission, told Ratopati that they had started work after taking the oath. "The commission will issue a public notice in a few days about how it will work," he said, "We will give information about the jurisdiction and mandate of the commission and the work to be done in a few days."

Bhandari said that in the first phase, the commission held a meeting and discussed the issue of how to increase the investigation initially, but now they are preparing to make an action plan on how to proceed. According to the mandate of the commission, the commission will take the details of the land and house from the land office of the persons under investigation. It also collects their bank account, balance transaction details, stock investment details in Nepal Stock Exchange as well as vehicle details and if there is an investment in any industry or business, it works to find the source of investment.

The most important step in this is that the commission compares the legitimate income of the person (salary, allowance, farm income, inheritance, rent, etc.) and the assets he has contributed. If the wealth is more than the legitimate income and its source cannot be revealed, it is considered 'illegitimate'. Likewise, if the source of the property is not revealed or if it is suspicious, the concerned person is called to the commission and a statement is taken. He is given an opportunity to prove the source of his wealth. In order to understand complex financial transactions, the help of chartered accountants, banking experts or engineers is taken.

The Rules of Procedure (TOR) of this Commission to carry out its work in accordance with the Investigation Act 2026 has also been approved. The commission, which has a mandate of one year, will carry out a detailed investigation of the assets held in the country and abroad in the name of the officials who have held public office, retired or left office and their families. As soon as the investigation is completed, the commission will submit a report to the office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. The Commission has committed to work in a completely independent, impartial and professional manner without being pressured or influenced by anyone. Arrangements have been made that any option can be used to file a complaint for investigation, including written, oral, electronic or social media. The commission will investigate the assets of the major political officials and high-ranking employees in public positions from 2082/83 to 2062/63.

The person under investigation by the commission is asked to fill in the complete details of the movable and immovable property in the name of himself and his family members (wife/husband and children). A certain deadline is given for this. In the same way, the commission also makes the property details available in the case of relatives. The commission will analyze and study the details collected in that way, the jurisdiction of this commission will be the same as that of the investigation commission formed earlier.

Currently, the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers is selecting (screening) 32 employees required for the commission. In order to make the work of the Commission transparent and trustworthy, all the employees working there must make public their property details within one week of assuming office. This too