The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Around 417 tour guides involved in the monument fees case in Taktsang, Kyichu Lhakhang and Punakha Dzong are likely to be legally prosecuted, and thereafter on conviction, lose their guide licenses for good.
The number of guides is likely to shoot up more once the investigation into the Chimi Lhakhang case and Changangkha Lhakhang cases are over.
The Director of the Department of Tourism, Damcho Rinzin said, “Till date we could not take action since we were awaiting the ACC report. Once the guides are convicted in court, they will all lose their guide licenses and they will not get the licenses again. We do not want such people in the tourism industry.”
The Director said Bhutan has under 3,000 guides, and the loss of the above will not have an impact on the tourism industry.
Meanwhile, given the larger number of cases and people involved, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is planning to file the cases for the five monument sites directly in the High Court once all the ACC reports reach them. This is allowed under the Civil and Criminal Procedure Code (CCPC) of Bhutan 2001 in such cases.
The OAG has received the investigation reports for Taktsang, Punakha Dzong and Kyichu Lhakhang and are still awaiting the investigation reports for Chimi Lhakhang and Changangkha Lhakhang.
The ACC’s investigation uncovered that 33 police personnel, two Ticket Counter Officials (TCOs), 249 tourist guides, and two DeSuups were involved in siphoning a total of Nu 4.621 million (mn) from the monument fees collected at Taktsang Monastery.
Similarly, two TCOs, 27 police personnel, 128 tourist guides, and one DeSuup were found to have embezzled a total of Nu 0.667 million from the monument fees collected at the Kyichu Monastery.
Furthermore, two TCOs, four police personnel, 40 tourist guides embezzled a total of Nu 0.361 million from the monument fees collected at the Punakha Dzong.
The 64 police personnel involved above in the remaining two cases have all been let go by the Royal Bhutan Police (RBP).
On 16th July 2024, RBP referred a case to the ACC concerning the alleged misappropriation of monument fees by police personnel stationed at Kyichu and Taktsang in collusion with Ticket Counter Officials (TCOs), DeSuups, and tourist guides.
Similarly, on 6th August 2024, the RBP referred an additional case involving the misappropriation of monument fees by police personnel deployed at Punakha Dzong, in collusion with TCOs and tourist guides.
The ACC investigation discerned two main modus operandi adopted by the individuals involved in the above fraudulent practices.
The first was the resale of tickets. In this method, tourist guides or tourists initially purchased entry tickets from the designated ticket counters. Upon arrival at the monument sites, the tickets were presented to the RBP personnel on duty for verification.
Standard procedure required that the police retain their portion of the ticket and return the remaining part to the guide or tourist. However, the police personnel instead retained the full tickets, particularly from personal guests, who typically did not require receipts for reimbursement.
These retained tickets were then returned to the TCOs who resold them to other tourists.
To avoid discrepancies and detection, no records were maintained for these subsequent sales.
The proceeds from the resale scheme were then shared equally among the colluding parties, which included the TCOs, Police Personnel, and Desuups on duty. The TCOs ensured the illicit earnings were deposited into their respective accounts, typically on the same day or within one to two days.
The second method was entry without tickets in collusion with police personnel. In this scheme, tourist guides collected entry fees directly from tourists without purchasing tickets. Upon arrival at the monument sites, they coordinated with the RBP personnel on duty, sharing half of the collected amount with them. In return, the RBP personnel facilitated the unauthorized entry of tourists into the monastery or Dzong without tickets.
To conceal this misconduct, the police deliberately omitted recording the entries, effectively bypassing the standard monitoring procedures and avoiding detection.
The ACC said the fraudulent schemes outlined above resulted in a total financial loss of Nu 5.650 million to the State.
The ACC’s investigation uncovered not only irregularities in the collection of monument fees, but also broader systemic issues and potential vulnerabilities within the tourism sector. These include the misuse of the Sustainable Development Fees (SDF) by external agents, deceptive itineraries, manipulative pricing of services, and the widespread prevalence of multiple commission systems.
It said, if left unaddressed, these issues could pose a serious threat to the integrity and sustainability of Bhutan’s tourism industry, and by extension, to the nation’s economy and reputation.
In recognition of the potential negative implications, the ACC convened a stakeholder meeting on 15th January 2025 to present the key findings and insights from the case investigation, even as the investigations were ongoing.
The stakeholders included the Dzongkhag Administrations of Paro, Punakha, and Thimphu, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the RBP, the Department of Tourism, the Guide Association of Bhutan, and the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators. The primary objective of the meeting was to initiate comprehensive and systemic reforms based on the outcomes of the investigations, and to engage relevant agencies in addressing the identified challenges in the tourism sector collaboratively.
Following the meeting, the ACC formally shared written recommendations outlining the systemic issues and corresponding corrective measures with all the participating stakeholders.
