US EditionNepal Charges 32 in $20M Everest Helicopter Rescue Scam
Police say guides, helicopter operators and hospital officials helped file forged rescue and medical records for at least $19.69 million in claims.
- On Wednesday, authorities revealed that Mount Everest guides allegedly poisoned tourists to trigger unnecessary helicopter evacuations as part of a $20 million insurance fraud scheme.
- Guides reportedly spiked hikers' food with baking powder to induce gastrointestinal distress mimicking altitude sickness, then pressured victims into costly helicopter rescues while operators billed insurers for fraudulent flights.
- The Central Investigation Bureau charged 32 individuals, including trekking operators and hospital staff, after identifying more than 300 fake rescue cases since 2022 that extracted nearly $20 million in payouts.
- Manoj Kumar, chief of the CIB, told authorities the fraud persisted due to "lax punitive action" against previous offenders; investigations continue into the network's systemic operations.
- Previous government reforms recommended in 2018 were never fully enforced, allowing the scam to continue; Nepal authorities now face pressure to protect the country's international prestige through stricter monitoring.
62 Articles
62 Articles
Mount Everest Climbers 'Poisoned' by Guides Prompting Mass Helicopter Rescues in $20 Million Insurance Fraud Scheme, Police Say
Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau reportedly found that some Mount Everest guides have been "poisoning" climbers as part of a scam that generated $20 million in insurance fraud. 32 guides have reportedly been charged in connection with the scheme, which impacted 4,782 climbers between 2022 and 2025,.
Some guides added baking soda, undercooked chicken, and even rat droppings to tourists' food. Nepalese police have uncovered a large-scale fraud scheme on Everest: guides are suspected of deliberately poisoning foreign climbers to stage rescues and collect payments from insurance companies. The total losses amount to $20 million, according to RBC-Ukraine, citing The Independent. Read also: Beware, the mountains are closing. Who will soon be bann…
This vast fraud is estimated at several million dollars. Here's a trick that's cold in the back. According to the "Kathmandu Post", sherpas...
Avalanches and cracks in the ice are not the only dangers facing climbers trying to climb Mount Everest. They can also be threatened by their guides, who deliberately make them sick in order to collect a portion of the money paid for expensive rescue operations. A large-scale insurance fraud scheme involving guides, rescuers and doctors has operated for many years and has affected more than four thousand tourists, Nepalese authorities have now w…
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