Illegal activities of Chinese nationals leave Nepal worried

Nepal is extremely worried over the rise of illegal activities by Chinese nationals. The recent arrest of nine Chinese nationals and 10 nepaliworkers including five womenin connection with online fraud is a case in point.The incident came into light three years after the arrest of 122 Chinese nationals involved in suspicious activities. They were picked from different parts of Kathmandu.

The incident has hit national headlines of Nepal because of the fact that Chinese nationals were running online classes by the name “ Operation Teacher’ over Telegram and duped Nepalis of money from their illegal offices in the Valley. The modus operandi was the operators would make various tempting offers to general people after initially connecting over WhatsApp and then making them join online classes via Telegram.

The police started investigations on the complaint of a victim who claimed that he lost Rs 4.7 million (Nepalese currency) in the business whereby the Chinese would send messages via WhatsApp with an offer of investment in an online business from where one was liable to get over 30 percent net profit.

According to Kathmandu post, initially the person was made to invest $30. A day after, they deposited more money into his account, showing 30 percent profit. “Through online shopping, they would increase their investment along with given profit, and when customers reached a tipping point, one of the operators would come in the disguise of a ‘law enforcement officer’ who is tracking the illegal business. All their transactions would then be cancelled. That is how people lost their money.”

Even as police remained busy investigating, the arrested Chinese nationals staged a protest outside the office of Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office in Minbhawan, where police held a press conference on Wednesday. In protest, they fell to the ground with their handcuffs and chanted slogans against police officers in Chinese language. They even misbehaved with journalists who were there to report on the case.

Meanwhile, Police have confiscated 12 laptops, computers, sim cards, passports and Rs400,000 in cash. According to the police data,the number of Chinese nationals committing crimes in Nepal has been increasing markedly in recent years.

A 49 year old Chinese national was arrested on February 25 from Lalitpur, on the charge of holding three girls aged 13, 14 and 17 hostage and sexually abusing them in his rented accommodation at Bungamati in Lalitpur. All three were rescued. Police also rescued four other minors whom Yang had kept at a Thamel based hotel on the same day.

The Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau of the Nepal Police had nabbed two Chinese agents from the Tribhuvan International Airport in December. They were arrested on the charge of trafficking three Nepali women to a Laos based call centre involved in catfishing—swindling rich people online by befriending them using a fake identity. The victims said their job was to lure rich English-speaking people online. After escaping their Chinese employer in Laos, three Nepali women had shared their harrowing stories with Nepali media.

Last year, police raided a call centre in Tinkune run and picked up a Chinese national. In January 2019, police apprehended 122 Chinese nationals from different parts of Kathmandu for their alleged involvement in suspicious activities.In September 2019, police had arrested five Chinese nationals on the charge of hacking bank data and stealing millions of rupees from automated teller machines (ATM) of various banks in Kathmandu.

Has Nepal become a favourite place for Chinese nationals to do illegal activities?

According to a senior police official, ” Nepal as a country welcomes tourists from across the world with trust. Foreign nationals including Chinese are involved in illegal activities in Nepal. News reports emanating from Kathmandu revealed thatChinese nationals have often been suspected to be part of a syndicate involved in cross-border online betting. However, neither the immigration agency nor the police have the right technology and workforce to confirm the suspicion.

Therefore, with no option left, arrested Chinese are deported to China even before prosecution. Also, there is no ban on foreigners working in Nepal, but they must obtain a work permit, Chinese citizens come on a visit visa and renew it every six months and live illegally.

And Chinese networks have spread everywhere from gold, dollars, wildlife parts, herbal smuggling, hacking, human kidnapping, attempted murder, human trafficking, drug trafficking, online fraud, gambling and game centres, and illegal medical practices. A senior police official said Chinese activities in Nepal have increased to such a large extent that it has become ‘Chinatown’.