Roshan Sedhai

A preliminary investigation of the Department of Foreign Employment has suggested the involvement of about 80 persons—government employees and manpower agency owners—in sending 170 migrants abroad through forged work approvals.

Informed sources said the ongoing investigation points to the involvement of immigration officers, duty officers at the airport labour desk and manpower agency owners as well as its own staffers in the fraud. The investigating team is trying to collect evidences as files related to the case have gone missing.

The department launched the investigation as sought by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority. The anti-grant body has sought details of the case from the department. The CIAA has also been conducting a separate investigation into the case.

The department administration interrogated 18 of its staffers in the case, while some recruitment agents are on the watch.

“It’s almost impossible to send workers abroad without the help of immigration and labour desk at the Tribhuvan International Airport. So the number of TIA officials involved in the case is likely to be more than those at the department,” said the source.

Foreign Employment Department staffers allegedly issued final work approval 

for individual visas by forging documents in the name of Aalamdevi Associates and KITS Employment Service on January 12 and 17, respectively.

The agents are said to have paid Rs 50,000 per worker to department officials in bribe. Some 100 migrant workers in question are said to have already left for Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The case came into light two weeks ago after an anonymous caller filed a complaint against staffers at the final work approval section of the department including Director Chiranjivi Adhikari, Section Officer Kumar Prasad Pokharel and Lava Raj Joshi.

Director General Rabindra Mohan Bhattarai of the department said investigation into the staff and the loss of files is under way.

“We are currently probing the two manpower companies. It will take us some time to be able to comment on it,” said Bhattarai. He had taken statements from all the officials at the final work approval section.

The CIAA has not arrested any official at the request of the Labour Ministry which wants substantial evidence to be gathered against them first. The ministry had said arrests could throw service delivery to some 2,000 seekers into disarray.

This is the second case concerning illicit issuance of work permits and subsequent hiding of files. The CIAA in August last year arrested 64 government employees and owners of three recruitment agencies for illegally issuing work permits to 77 migrant workers and hiding the files. Though such anomalies are said to be widespread in the department, things hardly come to light in the lack of complaints and vigilance.

 Published on: 10 February 2014 | The Kathmandu Post