ISLAMABAD: Nepal’s spring Everest season has opened under the shadow of a major rescue-fraud scandal that investigators say exploited trekkers, insurers and the country’s mountaineering industry. Police allege that trekking guides, helicopter operators, hospitals and agents worked together to stage or exaggerate medical emergencies, trigger unnecessary evacuations and submit inflated insurance claims worth nearly $20 million, local media reported on Friday.

The case centres on what Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau says was a years-long racket embedded in the trekking business. According to recent reporting, investigators found 317 fake rescues between 2022 and 2025 out of 2,320 helicopter operations, with fraudulent claims totalling about $19.65 million. Authorities have said the matter is now before the Kathmandu District Court, with 32 accused in the case, while some reports have described the action as 33 charges, reflecting different snapshots of the proceedings.

Investigators say the scam followed a repeatable script. Trekkers were allegedly frightened into believing they were too ill to continue, or were made to appear sick, and were then flown to Kathmandu by helicopter. Once there, hospitals allegedly created false or inflated admission records, treatment notes and billing documents to support large insurance claims. Reporting also says that even when several trekkers shared one helicopter, each could be billed as if they had taken a separate full-fare flight.

Some of the most disturbing allegations involve the deliberate creation of symptoms. Recent accounts citing police findings say certain trekkers were allegedly given substances such as baking soda or excessive Diamox with water to mimic altitude sickness and justify evacuation. Those claims remain allegations under investigation rather than court-established fact, but they have become the most alarming part of the case.

The scandal is not entirely new. The Kathmandu Post first exposed Nepal’s fake rescue network in 2018, prompting a government inquiry and a lengthy report, but the problem allegedly persisted and worsened. Officials now fear the case could damage Nepal’s image just as climbers prepare to arrive for the main Everest window from late April through May.

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Nepal Everest season opens amid $20 million rescue scam