Nepal banned Telegram app due to lack of financial fraud and cooperation

New Delhi: The Nepal Telecom Authority NTA on Friday ordered all the telecom service providers to block access to the Telegram messaging app. This decision has come after the warnings and requests given by the Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police for months, in which the app was described as a means of financial fraud and money refinement.

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

The authority said that fraud schemes through Telegram have recently increased. These include fake job proposals, crypto scams and other misleading tactics. The Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Home Affairs and other officials held meetings to discuss the issue.

After receiving information about several cases of money laundering related to 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 banning was Telegram refusing to cooperate with law enforcement agencies.

The ministry tried to contact the official representative of Telegram, but no local focal point could be found. On Friday, the Ministry wrote a letter to the NTA requesting to block the app. Soon after, the authority directed all telecommunications and internet providers to stop access to this app.

Telegram has been criticized for long -term unsafe and user data not shared with officials. Countries like China have already banned this app due to similar concerns. The controversy over Telegram increased further when its co-founder Pavel Durov was arrested in France in August 2024.

Durov, who is also the co-founder of the Russian social network VK, was arrested at the Burjet Airport and was later charged with several allegations including distribution of child abuse materials and collusion in drug trafficking.

He was stopped from leaving France and kept under judicial surveillance. After Durov’s arrest, activists and telegram users in favor of freedom of expression staged mass protests.

In March 2025, a judge allowed Durov to temporarily leave France, and he left the country within the same month.