Nepal's tourism authorities have asked the country's two leading mountaineering organisations to examine allegations against the organiser of a high-profile Everest event attended by the country's president and leading climbers after a complaint accused the private group of illegally issuing summit certificates and misrepresenting itself as a government body.

The Department of Tourism has written to the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) and the Expedition Operators' Association Nepal (EOAN), asking them to review allegations against Everest Alliance Nepal, a non-governmental organisation that organises an annual event to honours Everest climbers. The department has also asked the two organisations to submit their opinions together with any available evidence.

The request follows a complaint lodged with the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Nepal's anti-graft agency, which referred the matter to the department for further action.

According to the department's letter, the two organisations have been asked to recommend what action, if any, should be taken on the complaint and provide their assessment in line with the department's decision.

The complaint alleges that Everest Alliance Nepal, described as a family-run private organisation, falsely portrayed itself as a national-level body representing Nepal's mountaineering sector while organising the Everest Summiteers Summit.

It alleges the organisers presented themselves to the Chinese mountaineering community as representatives of the Nepal government, solicited donations from Chinese supporters and deposited the funds into private bank accounts.

The complaint further alleges that the organisation invited climbers to China and distributed Everest summit certificates without informing or obtaining verification from the Department of Tourism.

Under Nepal's mountaineering regulations, summit certificates are issued only after the Department of Tourism verifies expedition records, including documents submitted by expedition operators and government liaison officers.

The complaint also accuses the organisation of charging participants illegal fees and profiting from both climbers and donors. It says the alleged activities have created confusion among climbers and mountaineering organisations and undermined confidence in Nepal's official summit certification system.

Everest Alliance Nepal is headed by Sudarshan Nepal, who runs Nepal Big Mountain (NBM) Travel, a trekking agency. Although there is no legal requirement for organisers of mountaineering events to have expedition experience, the complaint notes that he has not organised expeditions on big mountains.

Nepal already has the Everest Summiteers Association, an organisation representing Everest climbers. However, some members of Nepal's mountaineering community say it has remained largely inactive because many climbers lack experience in running organisations. By contrast, Everest Alliance Nepal quickly gained prominence within a year of its establishment by organising high-profile events, honouring Nepali and foreign climbers, and appointing brand ambassadors and country representatives to promote Nepal's tourism.

The complaint further alleges that fraudulent certification continued with the support of some Department of Tourism officials who were offered financial incentives, although it provides no public evidence to support the allegation.

It calls for immediate legal action against those involved, saying the alleged activities have harmed the credibility and international reputation of Nepal's mountaineering industry.

The latest Everest Summiteers Summit, held at the Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu on May 27, was attended by President Ram Chandra Paudel, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey, senior government officials and prominent mountaineers. Dozens of Nepali and foreign climbers with notable Himalayan records were honoured during the event.

The complaint comes despite the event being held with visible government participation. Event banners displayed the logos of the Government of Nepal and the Nepal Tourism Board alongside that of Everest Alliance Nepal, while the president, the tourism minister and the tourism secretary attended the programme, which coincided with International Everest Day.

"The head of state and the tourism minister attended the event, but now it is being portrayed as a China-sponsored programme organised by an NGO," a veteran mountain guide, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, told Everest Chronicle. "Ironically, the government's own official Everest Day programme two days later was much smaller."

The government's official Everest Day celebration on May 29 consisted of a rally in Kathmandu organised in coordination with the Nepal Mountaineering Association, followed by a ceremony at the Nepal Tourism Board.

The Department of Tourism's letter does not make any findings on the allegations. Instead, it asks the NMA and EOAN to examine the complaint and submit their opinions before the government decides on any further course of action.

Neither Everest Alliance Nepal nor the CIAA immediately responded to requests for comment.