$33 Million USAID Scam: Corruption, Lies, and Nepal’s Federalism Fraud Exposed !
Kathmandu : United States President Donald Trump on February 19, 2025, accused $20 million of American aid to assist Nepal in implementing federalism as corrupt. He also queried an additional $19 million to preserve biodiversity.
Amidst social media outrage, Nepal's Ministry of Finance, on February 24, 2025, refuted any American assistance in implementing federalism. The ministry stated that three programs-biodiversity, governance strengthening, and municipal services-were merely in the designing phase and had been suspended.
This denial was contradicted when Ammar Raj Mishra, a member of the National Natural Resources and Finance Commission, made it public on Facebook that USAID had funded fiscal federalism projects in 245 municipalities.
Finance Ministry's Deception Exposed
Evidence obtained by Ukeraa indicates that on February 8, 2023, Shrikrishna Nepal, Joint Secretary of the Finance Ministry, and Sepideh Keyvanshad, USAID Mission Director, inked an agreement to make Nepal's federal financial system more transparent. Deloitte Consulting LLP was named the implementing partner in the agreement.
The agreement, which will run from October 2022 to October 2027, has a budget of more than $19 million and is ongoing.
When queried, Finance Ministry spokeperson Shyam Prasad Bhandari ambiguously stated, ‘USAID has assisted Nepal since 1951, but recent programs were suspended.’ This is in direct contrast to the ministry's rejection of any U.S. federalism programs.
Commission Bypassed, NGO Favored
Probe discovered that the Finance Ministry funneled the initial phase of USAID funds-worth 14 million rupees-to Niti Foundation, bypassing the National Natural Resources and Finance Commission. Commission Chairperson Balananda Poudel's stance appears questionable.
Niti Foundation's senior program officer Bishal Chalise was contracted as a Commission consultant. When asked, Poudel claimed Chalise was ‘just a volunteer.’ USAID documents, however, show that Chalise was a paid consultant to the federalism program.
Niti Foundation published a report on Nepal's federalism in partnership with the National Endowment for Democracy under USAID's Public Financial Management Strengthening Project in 2022.
NGO Influence Raises Alarms
Niti Foundation's role is a serious concern for transparency. Not only did the organization accept USAID funds, but it also influenced policies by placing personnel like Chalise in government agencies under the guise of ‘volunteer’ work.
,before being appointed as Commission Chairperson in April 2019, was a senior fellow at Niti Foundation-a detail which was subsequently removed from the foundation's website. He was a regular feature at public events on behalf of the foundation.
Secret Second Agreement
A second $20 million deal on fiscal federalism was inked between the government of Nepal and USAID on February 8, 2023. Even though it directly affected the Finance Commission, members were not informed for six months.
Commission members objected strongly, stating, ‘The signing of the USAID project by the Finance Ministry without consultation is irregular and procedurally flawed.’
Mishra confirmed filing a dissenting opinion but refused to comment, saying, ‘I have objected to legally and procedurally wrong decisions, but cannot disclose details.’
When Ukeraa attempted to contact Poudel for comment, he rebuffed calls, answering with only a cryptic message that said he would ‘contact later’-which never came. He also failed to respond to a follow-up SMS outlining the issues.
In Nepali
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