The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has charged an engineer and a contractor with forgery and fraudulent malpractice. The two accused are believed to have engaged in the alleged corrupt practices while constructing the Park Range Office in Neptangkha, Punakha.
The OAG forwarded the case to the Gasa District Court on Monday.
According to the OAG, the engineer had prepared fake guarantee letters of the Royal Insurance Corporation of Bhutan of Limited (RICBL). The letters are required for performance security and mobilization advance.
The OAG states the accused then stole the RICBL manager’s seal, forged signatures and submitted the letter to the Jigme Dorji National Park management and took more than Nu 260,000 from the park as ten per cent performance security for the construction work.
An investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) found no required committees for opening, evaluation and awarding of tender were formed.
The ACC also learned the engineer had evaluated the tender documents himself and awarded the work to the second lowest bidder, who was himself.
The 35-year-old had used the contract license of a friend and submitted the tender documents for the construction of the Park Range Office in July 2015. He had bid an amount of Nu 2.6 M for the project.
According to the ACC, the accused was the designated engineer for preparing designs, drawings, estimates and bill of quantities for the said work.
The commission said the accused, despite being a public servant, used the contract license of M/s. T.D Dendup Construction and submitted the tender documents.
However, the contract was terminated in July 2016 for failing to carry out construction works as per the contractual agreement.
The OAG has charged the accused with two counts of forgery. Forgery is a fourth degree felony, punishable upon conviction by three and five years in prison for each count.
The accused is also charged with abuse of function, which is a second degree felony.It carries a prison term of nine to fifteen years.
The OAG has charged the contract license holder for participating in the offence. The OAG is seeking cancellation of the 30-year-old accomplice’s contract license.
