A Ukrainian-American mountaineer, who claimed to have made the fastest ascent of Mount Everest from sea level, has been accused of money smuggling.
According to The Himalayan Times, Andrew Ushakov was detained at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu for illegally carrying a large sum of undeclared foreign currency.
He was reportedly stopped at the airport on May 25 while carrying $20,000 cash. He was then arrested by the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) for attempting to board a Turkish Airlines flight to the US. The DRI alleges he was trying to smuggle the undeclared foreign currency out of Nepal.
Ushakov, a client of Nims Purja's Elite Exped, claims to have gone from New York to Everest summit in just 3 days, 23 hours and 27 minutes using only supplementary oxygen. He has not posted on his Instagram account since he shared photos of his summit journey (above) on May 23.
According to The Himalayan Times, Ushakov, who works as a structural engineer and was a relatively unknown climber, had hidden the cash in his luggage when it was discovered by police during baggage scanning. They said he claimed he had originally brought the money from the US and intended to take it back after summiting Mount Everest. He has reportedly been issued with a $60,000 fine for violating foreign currency regulations.
On May 26, Ushakov remained in custody, having apparently not paid the fine. Nims Purja and the Elite Exped team are reported to have intervened to try to facilitate his fast release.
Currently the Department of Tourism (DoT), under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, is investigating Ushakov's claims of the record ascent, along with four British climbers who used xenon gas and hypoxic tents to avoid the need for traditional slower acclimatization methods.
Ushakov had attempted to make a fast ascent of Everest in 2024, reaching 8,500m (27,880ft) before developing a vision problem. He failed to complete the climb that time.
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