Kathmandu. The Patan High Court has sentenced a Chinese national involved in smuggling rare black tiger skins to 5 years in prison and a fine of Rs 1,000. With this verdict, wildlife smuggling and other organized crimes involving foreign nationals, especially Chinese nationals, have resurfaced in Nepal.

Details of the incident and court verdict
A joint bench of Patan High Court judges Rajkumar Khatiwada and Deepak Khanal found Chinese national Ma Jingbin guilty and sentenced him to 5 years in prison. He was working as the manager of the 'Jianghu Kejan Hotel' in Jyatha, Kathmandu. He was arrested with a rare black tiger skin from room number 203 of the hotel in BS 2078 (2021).

The length of the seized tiger skin was about 10 feet from head to tail. An expert examination by the National Trust for Nature Conservation confirmed that the skin belonged to a male tiger with the number 'CNP-FT54', which was caught on camera traps in the buffer zone (Bhandar) of Chitwan National Park between 2015 and 2017.

The court, however, acquitted three other Chinese nationals involved in the case—Zhao Pengcheng, Niu Yuliang, and Peng Hui. They were arrested while gambling in room number 2010 of the same hotel and the court found that they were not directly involved in the smuggling.

Last 10 years: Increasing involvement of Chinese nationals in crime in Nepal
This incident is not an isolated one. Analyzing the statistics and news of the past decade (2016–2026), it is evident that the involvement of Chinese nationals in various illegal businesses, using Nepal as a 'transit' or crime scene, has increased alarmingly.

1. Gold smuggling network
Chinese gangs have played a key role in the famous gold scandals in Nepal's history. 60 kg gold scandal (2023): A large network of Chinese nationals was found to be active in the case of 60 kg of gold smuggled from Hong Kong inside a 'break shoe'. In this, Dawa Tshering and other Chinese nationals were arrested, who were planning to smuggle gold to India from Nepal.

33 kg of gold and others: Whether it was the 9 kg of gold smuggled in electronic cigarettes or the 33 kg of gold smuggled, the investigation has shown that Chinese smugglers targeted the Nepali and Indian markets in these cases.

2. ATM hacking and banking crimes
An incident that took place in 2019 (BS 2076) shook the Nepali banking sector. 5 Chinese nationals were caught red-handed while stealing money from an ATM of Nabil Bank located at Durbarmarg in Kathmandu.

The investigation revealed that they had hacked the ATM system using 'malware' and had stolen more than Rs 12.6 million. This incident indicated that Chinese criminals were shifting from traditional crimes to 'cybercrime'.

3. Online fraud and call centers
In one of the largest operations, in late 2019, Nepal Police arrested 122 Chinese nationals from various locations in Kathmandu at once. They were operating illegal 'call centers' by renting houses and engaging in online gambling, fraud and cybercrime.

More recently, in 2025, more than 50 people, including 6 Chinese nationals, were arrested in Lalitpur and Kathmandu for illegal cryptocurrency trading and fraud through dating apps. This shows that this trend has not stopped yet.

4. Foreign currency and other smuggling
Chinese nationals have repeatedly been arrested at Tribhuvan International Airport while illegally transporting US dollars and other foreign currencies to China. In one incident, there was an attempt to smuggle foreign currency by hiding it inside cigarette butts and on the soles of slippers.

Apart from this, Chinese involvement has also been seen in the trafficking of other wildlife parts such as blood sandalwood and lizard skins.

This 5-year prison sentence for tiger skin smuggling has sent a message that Nepal’s justice system is tough on wildlife crime. However, what is clear from the developments of the past 10 years is that Chinese criminals are trying to use Nepal not only as a transit point for wildlife trafficking but also as a breeding ground for gold smuggling, cybercrime and financial fraud. Without more intensive monitoring by security agencies and the immigration department and international coordination, it seems challenging to dismantle this network.