Police Bust Long-Running Fake Helicopter Rescue Scam

Nepal Police arrested six people for their alleged involvement in a large-scale insurance fraud linked to fake helicopter rescues of foreign tourists, a long-running racket that investigators say siphoned nearly $19.7 million through forged documents and fabricated medical claims.

The arrests followed a two-and-a-half-month investigation by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), which uncovered widespread manipulation of rescue records, insurance claims and hospital bills, according to the police.

The scam involved presenting chartered helicopter flights as emergency rescues, filing multiple insurance claims for a single evacuation, and issuing fake or inflated medical bills with the involvement of private hospitals, AFP reported on Monday citing police officials.

Those arrested have been identified as Jayaram Rimal, Bibek Pandey, Rabindra Adhikari, Bibekraj Thapaliya, Mukti Pandey and Subhash KC, according to the state-run national news agency RSS. Rimal and Pandey are affiliated with Mountain Rescue Service Pvt Ltd, Adhikari and Thapaliya with Nepal Charter Services Pvt Ltd, and Pandey and KC with Everest Experience and Assistance Pvt Ltd, RSS further reported.

Additional Inspector General of Police Dr Manoj KC, chief of the CIB, told RSS on Sunday that investigations are ongoing into offences including organised crime, money laundering and treason.

Police data show that three companies claimed insurance payouts amounting to approximately $19.69 million (Rs 2.90 billion).

According to RSS, Mountain Rescue Service Pvt Ltd allegedly fabricated rescue documents for 171 people out of 1,248 evacuations and submitted insurance claims exceeding $10 million. Nepal Charter Services Pvt Ltd is accused of falsifying rescue records for 75 individuals while rescuing 471 people, claiming around $8.2 million in insurance payouts. Everest Experience and Assistance Pvt Ltd reportedly rescued 601 tourists and fabricated documents for 71 of them to claim about $1.15 million, RSS reported.

“This has been a long-standing issue and we have been investigating. Six have been arrested and our investigations will continue,” AFP quoted CIB spokesperson Shiva Kumar Shrestha as saying.

According to AFP, a government probe in 2018 had identified at least 15 companies — including helicopter operators, trekking agencies and hospitals — allegedly linked to similar fraudulent practices. However, no action was taken at the time, and the scams continued despite Nepal later introducing guidelines to curb fake rescue operations following warnings from international insurers, AFP further reported.