Nepal ID document drama escalates with Veridos, Mühlbauer, gov’t officials charged

There is a split between government officials in Nepal over whether Veridos and Mühlbauer, jointly awarded the country’s passport production contract a year ago, will be ready to deliver as expected. It will be all the more difficult to do so with their local representation facing charges in court, alongside Department of Passports personnel.

The two German firms won the contract last June, replacing Idemia as Nepal’s passport supplier. Now the Prime Minister’s Office is concerned that they will not be ready to begin operating the system on July 19 as scheduled, according to The Kathmandu Post. The migration of 20 million existing records of Nepali citizens has not yet been completed, unnamed officials told the Post.

Idemia complained immediately about how the Department of Passports had handled the procurement, alleging the process did not comply with administrative and technical rules. The challenge was rejected in court, but is apparently not the last.

Officials with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Passports, however, remains confident that Veridos and Mühlbauer are ready to start making Nepal’s passports.

The Post quotes a senior government official as stating that while the government is not about to terminate the contract, it “is also not going to wait indefinitely for passport rollout.”

The contract originally called for the new passport system to go live in March, but Nepal had already contracted IN Smart Identity to supply passports on an interim basis, along with replacing enrollment system destroyed in “Gen Z” protests.

Meanwhile the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority filed charges against officials with the passport office and local representatives for the two companies on June 22. The CIAA filed charges within a week, drawing questions about its reliance on circumstantial evidence and possible pressure from the PMO, The Himalayan Times reports. Special Court allowed the accused to go free on bail ranging from 300,000 Nepali rupees to Rs 500,000 (approximately US$1,980 to $3,300).

The implementation of the biometric passport contract is not addressed within the CIAA’s indictment.

The Times notes that the controversy threatens to harm Nepal’s reputation with foreign investors.

Just a week ago, Nepal cancelled its National Identity Card (NID) tender, betting the government can handle the services Toppan Security, Iris Corporation of Malaysia and IN Smart Identity (formerly Idemia Smart Identity) of France were bidding on.

Article Topics

biometric passport  |  digital ID  |  identity document  |  Mühlbauer  |  Nepal  |  procurement  |  Veridos