KATHMANDU, ARP 4: Nepal’s mountaineering community has sounded alarm over a massive USD 20 million insurance scam involving fake mountain rescues, even as police dismissed as “misleading” recent media reports alleging that some foreign tourists were deliberately given poisoned food to trigger fraudulent evacuations.
As the spring climbing season on Mount Everest opened this week, Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) said that its months‑long probe had found no evidence of food being poisoned or toxic substances being mixed into meals. “The investigation so far has not revealed any instance of toxic substances being adulterated in food,” the CIB stated, adding that several national and international media and social media outlets had published “misleading and untrue” reports based on unverified information.
The CIB has charged 32 people in connection with the fake rescue‑operation racket, involving helicopter operators, trekking agencies and hospitals. They were later released on bail after the Kathmandu District Court imposed fines. The scale of the fraud, however, continues to weigh on the country as the busy climbing season begins.
“We are investigating alleged fake rescue operations being conducted by some travel operators in the Everest region, and action will be taken if any wrongdoing is found,” said Director General Ramkrishna Lamichhane of Nepal’s Tourism Department. He added that the department was working to prevent such scams in the future.
The Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) strongly condemned the alleged practice, calling such behaviour “unimaginable” for genuine expedition operators. In a press statement, the NMA said Nepal’s mountaineering sector has long been seen as safe and reliable and warned that unverified reports could damage the country’s image at the start of the peak season. NMA president Phur Gelje Sherpa urged the government to take strict action against those found guilty and to frame clear policies to stop such illegal activity, while stressing that “the mountaineering community as a whole does not encourage” such misconduct.
Expedition operator and three‑time Everest summiteer Dendi Sherpa lamented that the “bad conduct of a few people” was hurting honest climbers and the wider tourism business. “This will very much have a negative impact on our climbing business. The government should be strict in implementing rules and regulations to control such illegal acts,” he told PTI.
Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak at 8,848.86 metres, along with numerous other Himalayan summits, continues to draw thousands of climbers and adventure tourists each year. Mountaineering, royalty fees from permits, and the large mountain‑based tourism ecosystem provide significant revenue for Nepal, with over 8,000 Nepali and foreign climbers having successfully summited Everest by 2025.
In January, Nepal police arrested six officials from tour operators and mountain‑rescue agencies linked to the fake rescue scam that defrauded international insurance companies of nearly USD 20 million. Investigators said some trekkers with only mild altitude discomfort were allegedly pressured into helicopter evacuations, and in other cases multiple patients were flown together but billed separately to different insurers at full price.
The CIB said the accused staged medical emergencies to justify costly helicopter rescues and then filed false claims to travel insurance companies. The bureau estimated that fake rescues not only generate illegal profits but also risk damaging Nepal’s international reputation and could jeopardise insurance services in the country.
According to the CIB’s findings, Mountain Rescue Service Pvt Ltd carried out 1,248 rescues, of which 171 were fraudulent, leading to claims of USD 10.3 million. Nepal Charter Service Pvt Ltd conducted 471 rescues, including 75 fake cases worth USD 8.2 million, while Everest Experience and Assistance Pvt Ltd performed 601 rescues with 71 bogus operations involving USD 1.15 million. Overall, the bureau identified 317 fake rescues out of 2,320 operations, amounting to fraudulent insurance payouts of nearly USD 20 million.
