Nepal, Everest sherpas caused intoxications in 4,800 climbers, $20 mln fraud

(Adnkronos) – Mount Everest guides in Nepal have for years caused intoxication to their clients as part of a scam that generated $20 million in insurance fraud. The Nepalese central investigative office has accused 32 ‘sherpas’ in connection with the fraud, which allegedly involved 4,782 climbers from around the world between 2022 and 2025. The scheme was discovered in 2018 but the investigation was then dropped without consequences. Police reopened the investigation last year, the Kathmandu Post reported. For insurance companies, it was difficult to carry out checks, given the extreme environmental conditions in which the guides, who used yeast to cause symptoms similar to mountain sickness, were complicit with hospitals and rescue helicopter agencies. Intoxicated climbers were given Diamox pills but with excessive water use. Era International Hospital and Shreedhi International Hospital were also involved.