Gulf Insider
Mount Everest guides have been accused of secretly drugging foreign climbers to trigger expensive aerial evacuations as part of a $20m (£15m) insurance fraud scheme, according to an investigation by the Nepali police. Operators of mountain rescue companies in Nepal have been arrested as part of the police operation, and a police spokesperson told The Independent that a total of 32 people have been charged and 11 arrests made so far. The scale of the scam appears to be vast, affecting 4,782 international climbers between 2022 and 2025. Police said more than 300 cases of alleged fake rescues have been uncovered, with bills totalling nearly $20m charged to climbers and insurers. The scandal has led to new scrutiny over tour operators and guides as this year’s spring climbing season got underway on 30 March. Investigators say the scam involved multiple actors across the trekking ecosystem, including sherpas, trekking company owners, helicopter operators and hospital executives. Six operators and managers from rescue companies were the first to be arrested on 25 January for allegedly claiming insurance money by faking the rescue of foreign tourists who they say had fallen ill while trekking, police said. These rescue companies managed to extract nearly […]
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