Nepal Banned Telegram App over Financial Fraud and Money Laundering

New Delhi (Uttam Hindu News): The Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) has ordered all telecom service providers in the country to block access to the Telegram messaging app. The decision comes after months of repeated warnings and requests by the Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police, which flagged the app as a tool for financial fraud and money laundering.

NTA confirmed this instruction in a statement, saying that this decision has been taken in view of the serious concerns raised by the security agencies. NTA said, "Online fraud through Telegram is increasing continuously in Nepal and this app is allegedly involved in crimes like money laundering, so all telecom service providers are instructed to block Telegram immediately."

The authority said that incidents of fraud through Telegram have increased recently. These include fake job offers, crypto scams and other deceptive methods. The Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Home Affairs and other key officials held meetings to discuss the issue.

After receiving information about several cases of money laundering involving Telegram, the Prime Minister's Office sent an official letter to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology requesting immediate action. Another major reason for the ban was Telegram's non-cooperation with law enforcement agencies.

The ministry tried to contact the official representative of Telegram, but no local contact could be found. Last Friday, the ministry wrote a letter to the NTA requesting it to block the app. Soon after, the authority directed all telecom and internet providers to block access to the app.

Telegram has long been criticized for being insecure and not sharing user data with authorities. Countries like China have already banned the app due to similar concerns. The controversy surrounding Telegram escalated further when its co-founder Pavel Durov was arrested in France in August 2024.