US EditionNepal Charges 32 in $20M Everest Helicopter Rescue Scam
Police say guides, helicopter operators and hospitals filed forged rescue and treatment records to claim nearly $20 million from insurers.
- 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.
113 Articles
113 Articles
Police in Nepal suspect that local guides poisoned the food for climbers on Mount Everest. All in order to rake in millions of dollars – in insurance fraud.
Alpineists know that the Everest presents many dangers. There is the Khumbu ice cascade, with its long curves and curves. There is the area of death of 8,000 meters, where each step is a realization, and the human body slows down.
Under cover of emergencies in altitude, dishonest companies are pushing foreign hikers to simulate malaise in order to charge their insurance companies. Nearly 17 million euros have thus been siphoned.
Nepali police have discovered a criminal network that aggravated the hikers' altitude sickness, forcing them to descend by helicopter and to claim millions of compensation from insurance companies.
Tourists were poisoned and forced to evacuate. Guides, pilots and doctors defrauded insurance companies.
A local investigation accused 32 people of setting up fake relief for years to get bloated insurance refunds.
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