KATHMANDU, May 8: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on Wednesday raided the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) on suspicion of the regulator’s involvement in misappropriation while approving initial public offerings of the new companies.
The CIAA action against the SEBON comes at a time when the regulatory body has been alleged by a number of companies, mainly the hydropower developers, for demanding bribes while issuing IPO permits. The operators of hydropower companies have blamed the SEBON’s high ranking officials for taking commission of up to five percent of the IPO issuance amount.
Over three-dozen hydropower companies are currently awaiting SEBON approvals before issuing their IPOs. According to a CIAA official, the anti-corruption body took control of documents relating to 89 companies on pipeline to issue their IPOs.