Nepal’s spring Everest climbing season opened this week amid a police probe into an alleged insurance fraud worth nearly $20 million in which guides, helicopter operators, hospital staff and agents are accused of staging or inflating medical emergencies to trigger costly helicopter evacuations and bogus insurance claims.
Police said the methods included mixing baking soda into food to induce nausea and bloating, giving excessive Diamox — a medicine that helps with acclimatisation at high altitude — with forced over-hydration to mimic symptoms of high-altitude cerebral edema, and in some cases, using laxatives to weaken trekkers to the point where they could no longer continue on foot. Fake flight manifests, load sheets, invoices and hospital records were then allegedly used to support the claims. A spokesperson for Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau said, “Hospitals, helicopter operators, and guides are also linked in this chain.” Mingma Sherpa, owner of Kathmandu-based Seven Summit Treks, said the fallout could extend beyond the current case if international insurers lose confidence in Nepal’s rescue chain.
Investigators said the racket ran between 2022 and 2025 and involved more than 300 fake rescues. Police have charged 32 people, of whom nine are in custody.
