Group committing cyber frauds in Nepal on rise: Report

The arrest of as many as 122 Chinese nationals in one of the biggest crackdown on crimes by foreign nationals in the Himalayan country last year has revealed that groups committing major cyber frauds earlier established in Southeast Asia have now been migrating to the South Asian countries.

The migration, particularly to Kathmandu, is the result of mounting pressure from China on many Southeast Asian nations to act against cyber fraud and ongoing gambling activities.

The arrest of 122 Chinese nationals and the subsequent developments that have emerged during the investigation have now put the pressure on Nepalese government authorities on finding effective ways to monitor these activities, as pointed out in a report by Asia Times.

Hemanta Malla, a former deputy inspector general of Nepal Police is of the view that the movement of Chinese fraudsters and online gambling operators to Kathmandu has indicated that Nepal's law enforcement agencies are "ill-prepared to tackle them".

Owing to the Visit Nepal 2020 initiative' and Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent visit to Kathmandu, the Himalayan country is expecting a surge of Chinese tourists.

"As we are receiving an increasing number of Chinese tourists, the numbers of illegal activities are also on a high. We should arrange a proper monitoring system and tighten the immigration system," security expert Geja Sharma Wagle told Asia Times.

The investigation into the arrest of five Chinese nationals in Kathmandu caught stealing money from ATMs revealed that they had traveled between Kathmandu and Cambodia regularly in the past and were found to have strong connections with the mastermind groups in southeast Asian countries.