Nepalese authorities say climbers were rescued and admitted in a staggered manner to Kathmandu hospitals in an alleged $20 million insurance scam on Mount Everest to fraudulently claim the insurance money.
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Nepal’s Central Bureau of Investigation said the 10 people arrested in connection with the alleged scheme included people from a tracking company, a rescue company and hospitals in the capital.
Nepalese police said in a press release last month that the companies involved were accused of falsifying passenger and cargo declaration forms as well as falsifying documents submitted to Nepalese authorities and insurance companies. It said the scheme had “seriously damaged and disgraced” Nepal’s international reputation.
A total of 32 guides have been charged, and investigators said some 4,800 international climbers were treated in hospitals between 2022 and 2025, local media reported.
“Foreign tourists were systematically defrauded,” the bureau said.
Bureau spokesperson Shiv Kumar Shrestha said foreign tourists “facing health problems” while trekking in Nepal’s Himalayan region were specifically targeted.
The Kathmandu Post, which investigated the alleged wrongdoing, reported that in one case an assistant at a hospital in the Nepalese capital allegedly submitted her year-old X-ray reports to support claims of treating foreign trekkers, in an effort to obtain insurance payouts. NBC News has not confirmed those claims.
The Associated Press reported in February that travel and mountain officials were accused of running fake rescues on the country’s mountain peaks to defraud international insurance companies of millions of dollars.
Reaching the summit of Mount Everest at 29,029 feet above sea level is one of the most challenging achievements in the world. While about 1,000 people attempt the climb each year, only 7,583 have successfully reached the summit, according to High Adventure Expeditions, a Minnesota-based group that has previously organized climbs on Everest.
Due to the extreme conditions on Everest and its altitude, rescue and medical incidents occur frequently, with some deaths reported each year.
