New Delhi: The Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) on Friday ordered all telecom service suppliers within the nation to dam entry to the Telegram messaging app. This choice got here after months of repeated warnings and requests from the Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police, which flagged the app as a instrument for monetary fraud and cash laundering.
In an announcement, the NTA confirmed the directive, stating that the choice was taken in response to critical considerations raised by safety companies. “As on-line frauds by means of Telegram proceed to rise in Nepal, and the app is reportedly concerned in crimes equivalent to cash laundering, all telecom service suppliers are directed to right away block Telegram,” NTA said.
The authority said that fraud schemes by means of Telegram have lately surged. These embrace faux job provides, crypto scams, and different misleading techniques. The Prime Minister’s Workplace, the Ministry of Residence Affairs, and different key officers held conferences to debate the difficulty.
After being briefed on a number of instances of cash laundering linked to Telegram, the Prime Minister’s Workplace despatched an official letter to the Ministry of Communication and Info Expertise, asking for speedy motion. One other main motive behind the ban was Telegram’s refusal to cooperate with regulation enforcement companies.
The Ministry tried to contact Telegram’s official consultant however couldn’t discover a native point of interest. On Friday, it wrote to the NTA requesting the block. Quickly after, the authority instructed all telecom and web suppliers to chop off entry to the app.
Telegram has lengthy been criticised for being unsafe and for not sharing person information with authorities. International locations like China have already banned the app as a result of comparable considerations. The controversy surrounding Telegram grew additional after its co-founder, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France in August 2024.
Durov, who additionally co-founded the Russian social community VK, was arrested at Le Bourget Airport and later indicted on a number of prices, together with complicity within the distribution of kid exploitation materials and drug trafficking.
He was barred from leaving France and positioned underneath judicial supervision. Durov’s arrest led to main protests by free-speech activists and Telegram customers.
In March 2025, a decide allowed Durov to briefly go away France, and he left the nation throughout the similar month.