Nepal nabs 122 Chinese suspects over financial crimes

KATHMANDU

Nepal police arrested 122 Chinese nationals suspected of committing financial crimes in the largest-ever arrest of a group of foreigners in the country, an official said on Tuesday.

Hundreds of police officers in Kathmandu were deployed Monday in the northern outskirts of the capital to arrest suspects, including eight women, from China, said Bed Bahadur Pandey, a spokesman of Nepal Police's Central Investigation Bureau.

The mass arrest came three months after five Chinese people were arrested on suspicion of hacking of ATMs in Kathmandu.

Police also seized laptops and mobile phones in coordinated raids in 10 buildings across three neighborhoods of the city.

"They rented flats and houses. Each room had double beds. It was like a barrack," Pandey told Anadolu Agency.

Pandey said the police were investigating if they had committed financial crimes in Nepal and if they had overstayed their visas.

The police officer said the 122 Chinese suspects could be deported to China after investigations.

Local media reported that the Chinese suspects might have moved to Kathmandu after the Cambodian government cracked down on the following allegations of telecom fraud scams.

Meanwhile, China's state-run newspaper, Global Times cited on Tuesday the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman in Beijing saying as the arrest was a joint operation of Nepalese and Chinese police on cross-border online fraud in Nepal.

Cambodia deported 150 Chinese in late August for operating telecom scams in the country, according to the nation’s daily, Khmer Times.