Three individuals have been arrested by Nepal Police for allegedly hacking the government’s electronic procurement system and modifying public contracts.
Tanka Nath Dhakal, Rameshwar Thapa, and Prakash Baral were taken into custody by the Cyber Bureau for tampering with the electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) system managed by the Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO).
They face accusations of altering documents related to financial proposals for various government contracts, according to the Cyber Bureau.
Investigation Details
The investigation started after a complaint was lodged with the Cyber Bureau, alleging document alterations tied to financial proposals.
The Cyber Bureau conducted an inquiry into these alleged activities and found evidence linking the three suspects, prompting the police to seek arrest warrants from the Kathmandu District Court.
The police arrested the trio at different locations across the Kathmandu Valley on Kartik 15, 2083.
Tampering with Financial Proposals
Documents concerning financial proposals were reportedly altered.
In the public procurement process, financial proposals must remain unchanged until the bid opening. Unauthorized alterations could jeopardize the fairness of the bidding process.
The investigation is focused on the alleged unauthorized access and tampering of contract information.
Ongoing Investigation
The individuals are being investigated under the Electronic Transactions Act, 2063.
The Kathmandu District Court has granted police additional time to continue their investigation after the suspects were presented in court.
“We have detained them and are conducting further investigations,” stated Cyber Bureau Spokesperson and Superintendent of Police Deepak Raj Awasthi.
Significance of Securing Government Procurement
The e-GP system is crucial for government agencies and bidders to manage procurement processes, making it essential to publish tenders, bids, and procurement documents securely.
This incident has raised concerns about the security of digital government systems.
However, the allegations against the arrested individuals remain unproven, and police are actively investigating to gather more information about the alleged incident.