Nepalese police chief jailed in UN Darfur corruption scandal

by Toby Collins

July 20, 2011 (LONDON) – The Nepalese policeman at the centre of a corruption scandal involving armoured personnel carriers destined for Darfur was jailed on Wednesday.

The former Deputy Superintendent of Police in Nepal, Prakash Adhikari, was jailed for part in a US$4million scandal in which more than 30 high ranking police officials were charged on 8 June 2011.

The obsolete and substandard armoured personnel carriers were destined for the peacekeeping mission in Darfur in 2009.

There has been criticism of the investigating commission for not charging former ministers who oversaw the deal involving obsolete and substandard equipment.

More than 140 Nepalese troops work as part of the team 22,000 UN team in Darfur.

The African Union – United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) is a joint African Union and UN mission established in 2007. It has a budget on approximately US$1.3 billion to maintain peace in the region of west Sudan in which many rebel groups have been fighting the hegemony of the central government since 2003.

(ST)