An investigation has uncovered a nearly $20 million insurance scam in Nepal that allegedly involved guides who would imitate or instigate mountainside rescues, including by lacing the food of some hikers near Mount Everest, according to a report by The Kathmandu Post.
Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal, where some adventurous people go to climb Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world.
The mountain is located on the border of Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
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The Kathmandu Post reported that after highlighting the fraud in 2018, the government set up a commission of inquiry, issued a 700-page report and announced reforms.
But last year, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB) of Nepal Police reopened the case and found that the fraud was on the rise.
This photo taken on May 31, 2021, shows mountain climbers lined up as they climb a slope during their climb to the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal. (Lakpa Sherpa/AFP via Getty Images)
The outlet indicated that the CIB investigation revealed two major fraudulent scenarios.
One involves guides suggesting to weary adventurers who don’t want to walk back that if they feign illness, a helicopter will pick them up, according to The Kathmandu Post.
The outlet reported that in the other scenario, according to the CIB investigation, guides and hotel staff were coached to scare trekkers at high altitudes, where altitude sickness can occur. They claim that the trekkers are in danger of dying and that only an immediate evacuation will spare them.
In some cases, researchers found that Diamox (acetazolamide) tablets, used to prevent altitude sickness, were given in combination with excessive water intake to produce the symptoms that would be grounds for a rescue, the outlet reported.
In at least one case noted in the investigation, guides allegedly laced food with baking soda to make people feel unwell, the outlet reported.
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Mountaineers’ tents are pictured at the Everest base camp in the Mount Everest region of Solukhumbu district on April 18, 2024, on the tenth anniversary of an avalanche that killed 16 Nepalese guides. (Purnima Shrestha/AFP via Getty Images)
Police have registered a case where four persons were picked up in one helicopter flight, but insurance claims were filed as more than one separate rescue operation, the report said.
The framework linking the mass fraud scheme was detailed in police interrogations, according to the newspaper, which reported that hospitals paid out 20% to 25% of insurance money to trekking companies and 20% to 25% to helicopter rescue operators in exchange for patient referrals.
Trekking guides and their businesses are getting a boost from overbilling, the outlet suggested. In some cases, tourists are offered money to participate in the scam, according to The Kathmandu Post.
In the period between 2022 and 2025, researchers found as many as 4,782 foreign patients being treated in affected hospitals, with 171 cases verified as fraudulent bailouts, the newspaper reported. During that period, Era International Hospital raked in deposits of more than $15.87 million for such activities and Shreedhi International Hospital received more than $1.22 million, the outlet reported.
Mountain Rescue Service conducted 171 fake rescues on a total of 1,248 charter flights, collecting about $10.31 million from insurers, the outlet reported, adding that Nepal Charter Service conducted 75 fake rescues on 471 flights, claiming $8.2 million. Everest Experience and Assistance was reportedly linked to 71 suspect rescues on 601 flights, with claims totaling $11.04 million.
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This photo, taken on May 12, 2021, shows mountain climbers climbing during their ascent to the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal. (Pemba Dorje Sherpa/AFP via Getty Images)
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CIB charged 32 people last month with crimes against the state and organized crime, the newspaper reported, noting that nine people had been arrested while others were said to have gone into hiding.
Individuals from Mountain Helicopters, Altitude Air and Manang Air, which was renamed Basecamp Helicopters, as well as doctors and administrators from Swacon International Hospital, Shreedhi International Hospital and Era International Hospital were among those charged, the outlet said.
