Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police has arrested a hospital operator as part of an expanding investigation into what authorities say was a coordinated scheme involving fake helicopter rescues of foreign tourists and fraudulent insurance claims.

The suspect, Dr Girwanraj Timilsina, 44, who operates Shridhi Hospital, was taken into custody after investigators concluded that the hospital had fabricated medical records to support false insurance claims tied to staged rescue operations. With his arrest, the number of people detained in the case has risen to seven, police officials said.

Investigators said hospital documents falsely showed that foreign tourists had been treated or admitted when they had not, allowing helicopter rescue operators to collect insurance payments.

Police say the investigation has uncovered an organised network involving trekking and travel companies, helicopter charter services, private hospitals and tourist guides that staged emergency evacuations — or misrepresented routine charter flights as rescues — to extract large sums from foreign insurance companies.

On January 6, investigators arrested six people linked to three helicopter rescue firms: Mountain Rescue Service Pvt. Ltd., Nepal Charter Service Pvt. Ltd. and Everest Experience and Assistance Pvt. Ltd. Those detained include company operators and managers, all of whom remain in custody.

According to police findings, Together, police said, the three companies collected nearly $19.7 million through fraudulent rescue claims.

Police said that Mountain Rescue Service claimed to have rescued 1,248 tourists between 2022 and 2025. Investigators say at least 171 of those rescues were fraudulent, generating about $10.3 million in insurance payments. Nepal Charter Service is accused of staging 75 fake rescues out of 417 operations, collecting roughly $8.23 million. Everest Experience and Assistance allegedly carried out 71 fake rescues among 601 operations, receiving about $1.15 million.

Investigators said that the figures were preliminary and could rise as the inquiry continues.

Concerns over fake helicopter rescues have circulated for years. In 2018, Traveller Assist, an organisation representing international insurers, warned that more than a third of helicopter rescues conducted that year were fraudulent, costing insurers millions of dollars.

Investigators in a press conference on Friday said repeated warnings and government efforts to regulate adventure tourism were undermined by political instability and weak enforcement, allowing the practice to persist.

The current inquiry was triggered by complaints filed in December 2024, along with earlier reports from domestic and international media. That month, the Ministry of Home Affairs formally instructed police to open an investigation.

Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest peaks, attracts tens of thousands of foreign trekkers each year. Helicopter evacuations — often covered by overseas insurance policies — are an essential but increasingly scrutinised component of the country’s adventure tourism industry.

Police officials said complaints are still being received and further arrests are possible. Those already detained face potential charges including organised criminal profiteering, fraud, money laundering and crimes against the national interest.