Government Updates Nation on Mahendra Investigation: Findings So Far, Three More Arrests, Custody Extended
Krisha Dalen, Government Spokesperson | Republic of Novara | April 2143
Good morning.
I am here to give the public a clearer account of the Mahendra investigation, as the Government promised in earlier briefings.
The special court has extended the custody of the nine persons arrested earlier by ten days, and formal charges will be filed within that period. The Central Bureau of Investigation has made three further arrests, bringing the total to twelve. They include a logistics intermediary and two persons linked to shell companies used by the group.
On what investigators have found: over about six months, twenty-one shipments were moved at night through a privately operated cargo terminal, outside normal inspection hours. The manifests declared industrial machinery spare parts and agricultural equipment. Customs clearance was obtained without physical inspection. The Bureau has seized twenty-seven containers, with a combined estimated value of over three billion Thita. Their contents break down as follows: nine containers of communications equipment, including satellite uplink terminals, encrypted radio systems, and portable relay towers; seven containers of surveillance and access-control hardware, including cameras, biometric scanners, perimeter sensors, and modified drones; five containers of servers and identity-registration systems; and four containers of generators, barriers, and checkpoint equipment. The contents of the remaining two containers are still under analysis. Taken together, this is the equipment needed to run a communications network, a security perimeter, and a registry of residents. In other words, it is the equipment of a private administration. I want to state plainly that no weapons or explosives have been found. Most of the equipment was recovered in storage and unused, and a smaller portion had reached a partly built site, which is now secured.
The picture that emerges is of an operation that was poorly planned and hastily executed. It appears to have been influenced by developments abroad, and by an attempt to replicate a model seen elsewhere, of a private entity placing itself beyond the reach of public institutions. The Government regards this as an attempt to create a parallel authority within the nation’s own territory, and it will not be tolerated.
I can also tell you how the case came to light. Our intelligence agencies identified the pattern early. They chose to watch and to wait until every element could be confirmed, so that action would rest on evidence and not suspicion. That is why the operation, when it came, was complete.
The inquiry has found that six senior officers were approached and cultivated to enable this activity. Two were customs officers who signed off falsified manifests and cleared containers without physical inspection. One was a port regulatory officer who allowed the private terminal to operate outside permitted hours. One was a transport officer who issued the permits for the inland movement of the containers. One was a land and planning officer who processed the allotment of the site where the private zone was being built. And one was an officer in the port authority’s audit wing who suppressed internal alerts that would otherwise have exposed the pattern. These officers allegedly received payments and other benefits routed through the shell companies. They remain suspended. The first findings of the administrative inquiry have been referred to the Central Bureau of Investigation, and all six will now face criminal charges, including corruption, abuse of official position, and criminal conspiracy. They are presumed innocent, and the courts will decide. Funds were routed through shell companies, and investigators are tracing those links, including connections with external corporate entities. The identities of those entities are part of the inquiry, and no foreign government or institution has been attributed any role. We will not make such an attribution without evidence.
Equally, I want to be clear on who is not accused. The members of the Mahendra family are not accused. The employees of the group’s companies are not accused, and their salaries and their dealings with suppliers and partners are being protected. Group assets linked to the investigation are under examination, but they are not all sealed, and unrelated operations continue. All those in custody are presumed innocent, and the courts will determine responsibility.
The Government is also preparing legislation for Parliament on foreign-linked funding in sensitive sectors. I will not pre-empt that bill today.
The agencies retain the Government’s full support, and further arrests are not ruled out. Certain operational details, investigative methods, and information about persons not charged will remain withheld to protect the proceedings and national security.
Novara is a nation built on institutions and public trust. This case was a test of whether those institutions can be reached by private power, and they were watching throughout. Further briefings will follow as the inquiry advances.
Thank you.
Issued by Krisha Dalen, Government Spokesperson, Republic of Novara
