June 2: Three people including the then Joint Secretary Chudamani Sharma of the Tax Clearance Commission have been convicted of corruption in tax evasion case.

A joint bench of Special Court judges Shrikant Poudel, Shaligram Koirala and Yamuna Bhattarai on Thursday convicted Joint Secretary Sharma, chairman Lumbhadwaj Mahat and member Umesh Dhakal of corruption in capacity of the office bearers of the Tax Clearance Commission.

Special court spokesman Dipendranath Yogi informed that the punishment will be determined on June 8. The special court however acquitted Joint Secretary Sharma in a case of amassing wealth illegally.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed a case against the three officials including Sharma at the Special Court on June 23, 2021 on charges of corruption by giving tax exemptions to businessmen while they were in charge of the Tax Clearance Commission.

The anti-graft body had filed the case demanding the recovery of over Rs 1 billion from them. The CIAA had also demanded a fine of the same amount as per Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 2059 and along with imprisonment as per Sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Act.