एयरबसको खाताबाट चार करोड घुस नेपाल भित्रिएको खुलासा, घुस ल्याउने को ? (ट्रिब्यूनल कोर्टको फैसलासहित)

काठमाडौं । युरोपेली जहाज निर्माता कम्पनी एयरबसले नेपालमा जहाज बिक्री गर्दा अबैध रुपमा भुक्तानी गरेको करिब चार करोड रुपैयाँ नेपाल भित्रिएको खुलासा भएका छ । सो रकम भारतीय कम्पनीलाई तेस्रो पक्ष खडा गरी भित्राइएको हो । उता, एयरबसले बजार प्रवद्र्धनबापत दुई जना नेपाली व्यापारीमार्फत केही रकम नेपालमा पठाएको समेत खुलेको छ ।

फ्रान्सको ट्रिब्यूनल कोर्टले गरेको फैसलामा नेपालमा सन् २०१४ फ्रेबुअरीदेखि २०१५ को अप्रिलसम्ममा तीन लाख ४० हजार युरो पठाएको उल्लेख गरेपछि एयरबसको घुस प्रकरण बाहिर आएको छ । घुस बापतको रकम कसले बुझे भन्ने खुल्न सकेको छैन ।

ट्रिब्यूनल कोर्टको फैसलामा नेपालमा एयरबसले गरेको क्याम्पेनको क्रमको सो रकम नेपाल पठाइएको थियो । नेपालका सार्वजनिक पदमा रहेका मन्त्री, नेता तथा नेपाल एयरलाइन्सका उच्च अधिकारीको नाम लिएर एयरबसबाट दुई जना व्यापारीले सो र कम बुझेको उल्लेख छ । एयरबस र नेपाल एयरलाइन्सबीचमा सम्झौता भई अघि बढिरहेको अवस्थामा एक भारतीय कम्पनीलाई तेस्रो पक्ष बनाएर उभ्याएर सो कमिशन दिइएकोबारे त्यहाँको न्यायालयले प्रश्न गरेको हो ।

एयरबसले नेपालका नेता, मन्त्री तथा नेपाल एयरलाइन्सका कर्मचारीलाई घुस दिन बुझाएको रकम बुझ्ने व्यापारी को हुन् ? सो नखुलाई प्रकिाशत न्यायिक प्रतिवेदनमा सो रकम नेपालका सम्बन्धित अधिकारीले बुझे, नबुझेको समेत प्रष्ट पारिएको छैन ।

प्रबद्र्धनको लागि भनेर दिइएको सो रकमको औचित्यबारे फ्रान्सको ट्रिब्यूनल कोर्टले प्रश्न गरेको हो । नेपालमा मात्रै नभएर भारतको चीन, कोलम्विया, साउदी अरब, दुबई, ताईवान र रसियामा गरेको प्रबद्र्धन खर्चबारेमा प्रश्न गरिएको छ ।

हेरौं, फ्रान्सको ट्रिब्यूनल कोर्टले तयार पारेको रिपोर्टको नेपाल एयरलाईन्स सम्बन्धी अंश । -फ्रान्सेली भाषाबाट अंग्रेजीमा अनुवाद गरिएकोले सामान्य भाषा तलमाथि हुन सक्नेछ ।

4- SALES CAMPAIGN WITH NEPAL AIRLINES

101. Nepal Airlines (Nepal Airlines Corporation – NAC) is the national airline of Nepal. It is owned and controlled by the Nepalese state. On November 5, 2009, Airbus signed two Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nepal Airlines for the sale of an A330 aircraft and an A320 aircraft. It was the first sale made by Airbus with this company.
102. It follows from the investigations that Airbus executives exchanged with two Nepalese businessmen who said they were in contact with Nepalese public officials and senior executives of Nepal Airlines.
103. The exchanges with the first intermediary took place from 2007. Airbus had then considered hiring him officially as an agent. However, during 2009, when this process was called into question following verifications carried out by the Airbus compliance department, the agent indicated in an email to an Airbus manager: “Unfortunately, to date We have no commitments from EADS in our regard, and therefore we have not been able to make firm commitments to our contacts at NAG. At a decisive stage I am of the opinion that this will be very prejudicial to the Project ”.
104. After the signing of the MoUs, the Nepalese administration launched an investigation into the aircraft purchasing process. The investigation focused on the question of whether the payment of a down payment of $ 750,000 to Airbus, made in application of the “MoU” and before the terms of financing were finalized, constituted an abuse of authority by from the managers of Nepal Airlines.
105. In this context, Airbus was linked, from 2010, with a second intermediary. In an email sent to an official of SMO International, he indicated that the absence of “real conviction of haul below and from left to right” within the Nepalese authorities had to be remedied. In other emails, a Nepal Airlines executive said he believed the intermediary should “present new proposals with concrete figures” in order to convince the Nepalese administration not to cancel the protocol. He requested that Airbus “Support the project” and “take urgent measures to make this small project a success.”.
106. Ultimately, the MoUs were not canceled and negotiations continued until the signing of the contract! of June 27, 2013 relating to the sale of two A 320 aircraft, two pounds tour respectively in February 2015 and April 2015.
107. However, from 2009, the SMO / 10 monitoring tables mentioned a financial commitment linked to the Nepal Airlines campaign, which suggested that a payment had been promised to the intermediaries or to Jun of them in connection with the contracts. finally obtained in 2013. In fact, e-mail exchanges between executives of SMO International and the second Nepalese intermediary followed the conclusion of the 2013 sales contract. Through these exchanges, several methods were envisaged for transferring funds. Under cover of a code language, it was a question of transferring

5 The investigation did not establish that the academic institutions before receiving these payments were themselves aware of their origin or their cause.

to the second intermediary funds which appeared destined ultimately for third parties with which it was in contact. In these communications, the Nepalese intermediary regularly referred to the pressure he was undergoing or to the embarrassing nature of the situation following the delays in the payment of the promised funds.

108. At the same time, a contract was signed between Airbus and a third company which was thus charged with a mission of “advice on the Indian subcontinent”. The elements gathered make it possible to determine that this mission was in reality very probably used to facilitate the transmission of funds to the second intermediary. Airbus accounts show that between February 2014 and April 2015, 340,000 euros were thus paid to said third company for this purpose. The SMO / lO tracking tables show a total payment commitment of $ 1.8 million related to the campaign with Nepal Airlines.
109. The prosecutor of the Financial Republic considers that these facts are likely to receive the classification of bribery as a foreign public official provided for in article 435-3 of the penal code.