Nepal Minister for Labour and Employment Kumar Belbase asking Bribe , caught on Camera

 KATHMANDU, OCT 20 - For the first time, a sitting minister has been caught on video tape asking for bribe promising to register prospective foreign employment companies. Minister for Labour and Employment Kumar Belbase was seen on the tape, demanding Rs 250,000 from each of the prospective manpower companies for his approval of foreign employment agencies. A sting operation by Movement of Anti-corruption Nepal, an NGO, captured the conversation between a group of nine prospective manpower company owners with a spy camera, in which the minister is seen asking them to arrange money for the company registration. "I have already directed the secretary to endorse new manpower guideline procedure. Be assured, I will do your work before Dashain," Belbase is seen telling the group on the video. The campaigners made eight video recordings altogether: one has the conversation with the minister and seven with the interlocutor, party central committee member and Janakpur in-charge Bhaskar Kafle. Belbase, however, told the group to talk about money with his party leaders. "Party office is being constructed and it doesn't run without assistance. He [my secretary] will clarify the matter," the minister says on the video. Based on 30-point recommendation of a high-level foreign employment suggestion panel led by Ganesh Gurung, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai had directed the ministry to halt registration process of new manpower agencies until a strict mechanism for monitoring and regulation is endorsed. The registration process was halted on October last year. The Ministry of Labour and Employment is considered to be a lucrative ministry fraught with fraud and corruption. Former minister Sarita Giri was also sacked for her alleged role in approving a license for a foreign employment company. "We are all set to resume the registration and the Prime Minister is also ready to do so," Belbase told the group. The ministry is yet to endorse the new procedure for the registration of new foreign employment companies. According to the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), a total of 59 foreign employment companies are in the pipeline for the registration process. The video shows prospective foreign employment company owners requesting the minister to expedite the registration process regardless financial burden. "I have borrowed the money at high interest rate for the registration of my company. I am paying the interest but no business yet," a company owner says on the tape. Minister Belbase pleaded innocence, saying "he was framed into the scam." He declined to comment further. The video shows Bhaskar Kafle, a CPN-ML central committee member acting as an interlocutor, asking Rs 150,000 for the party, Rs 40,000 for the minister and Rs 40,000 for the labour secretary and Rs 20,000 for himself from each foreign employment company. He instructed them to handover consolidated amount of 10-15 companies to Dambar Shrestha, financial chief of his party. Shrestha is a former land reform minister. MoLE Secretary Somlal Subedi refuted his alleged involvement in the bargain. "It's just an attempt to lower my integrity. Issuing license to new foreign employment company is purely a job of the department," said Subedi adding, "I have nothing to do with the scam". Bal Bahadur Tamang, chairman of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, said he was told about the malpractice in obtaining the license a few weeks ago. "It's so unfortunate to find involvement of responsible people in such scam. Such practices in the ministry and concerned department have tarnished the reputation of an entire foreign employment industry," said Tamang.

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