Cyber Bureau Nepal 2026: Contact, Online Complaint & Process Guide

The Cyber Bureau office line is 01-5319044. The spokesperson and information-officer numbers are 9851286770, 9851286771 and 9851286772. The Nepal Police hotline is 100 and the toll-free number is 16600141516. Email contacts are cyberbureau@nepalpolice.gov.np for the office and cb_spokesperson@nepalpolice.gov.np for media or information requests.

The Cyber Bureau is located inside Nepal Police Headquarters at Bhotahiti, Kathmandu. Walk-in complaint filing is available during office hours; outside Kathmandu Valley, complainants are usually directed to the nearest district police office or the Cyber Crime Investigation Division of the relevant Provincial Police Office, which then coordinates with the central Bureau.

Open cyberbureau.nepalpolice.gov.np/report-cyber-crime/, download the form for the relevant category (obscene content, financial fraud, fake/hacked account recovery, or other), fill it in English or Nepali, attach a copy of your identity document plus the URLs and screenshots of the offending content, and submit by email to cyberbureau@nepalpolice.gov.np or in person at the Bhotahiti office. The Bureau acknowledges receipt and assigns the case for investigation.

Every complaint requires a copy of the complainant's identity document — citizenship certificate, national ID, passport, or birth registration for minors — together with evidence of the offence. The evidence package is the URLs of the offending content (copied from the address bar, not retyped), clear screenshots showing URL and timestamp, and where applicable bank/wallet transaction records or chat exports. Filing without the identity document or evidence delays processing until the gap is filled.

The Bureau accepts financial fraud (wallet phishing, fake QR codes, OTP theft, investment scams), account hacking and recovery, sextortion and obscene-content offences, defamation through social media, cyber stalking, harassment, doxxing and computer-data offences under ETA 2063 Sections 46–47. Offline disputes with no digital element fall outside its mandate and are filed at the ordinary district police office.

Yes. Complaints are accepted at any district police office in Nepal; the office records the complaint, takes initial action and forwards the matter to the Cyber Crime Investigation Division at the relevant Provincial Police Office or to the central Bureau in Kathmandu. The online portal and the office email cyberbureau@nepalpolice.gov.np are also available nationwide and are useful for creating a parallel written record.

No. Filing a cyber crime complaint at the Cyber Bureau or any Nepal Police office is free of cost. There are no government charges at the complaint stage. Costs may arise later if you engage a private advocate to represent you, or in connection with court fees once the matter reaches charge-sheet and trial under ordinary criminal procedure.

Investigation timelines vary widely with the type of offence and the cooperation of the platforms involved. Simple matters resolved at the bureau stage — for example, a single fake-profile takedown — can move within days. Complex financial fraud involving cross-border wallets or multiple platforms can take weeks or months because preservation requests to Meta, Google or banks have their own response windows. The Bureau can confirm status on request once a case file is open.

Section 46 of the Electronic Transactions Act 2063 prescribes imprisonment up to three years, a fine up to NPR 200,000 or both, for unauthorised computer-data offences. Adjacent sections cover obscene content, source-code theft and aggravated system damage with their own penalty schedules. Where the conduct also amounts to an offence under the Muluki Penal Code 2074 — for example cheating, defamation, sexual offences — the prosecutor may charge under both statutes and the court determines the applicable sentence.

Yes. The Bureau publishes a dedicated form for fake or hacked account recovery. File the form with your identity document, the URL of the affected profile, screenshots of the unauthorised activity, and any prior platform takedown receipts. The Bureau coordinates with Meta on preservation and recovery requests, while you should also pursue the standard Meta account-recovery flow in parallel because the platform-side route is often faster for routine recoveries.

Yes. Online financial fraud is one of the four primary complaint categories. The Bureau investigates wallet, banking and e-commerce frauds, coordinates with banks and wallet operators on preservation and freezing requests, and supports recovery where the funds are still in the system. Recovery is not guaranteed — speed of filing matters, because once funds clear out of the system the recovery route is the civil court rather than the criminal investigation.

The Bureau treats complainant identity as confidential during the investigation phase to the extent compatible with operational requirements. The suspect typically learns the complainant's identity at the FIR or charge-sheet stage, which is consistent with general criminal procedure under the Muluki Criminal Procedure Code 2074. In sensitive matters such as sextortion the Bureau exercises additional discretion, but full anonymity is not available because the complainant must give evidence at trial.

Yes. Knowingly filing a false cyber complaint can be prosecuted under the false-complaint provisions of the Muluki Penal Code 2074 and exposes the complainant to civil liability for malicious prosecution. This is a real risk where the underlying dispute is civil — a contract disagreement, a personal grudge — dressed up as a cyber offence. An advocate review of the conduct against the offence elements before filing avoids this exposure.

Hire an advocate at the filing stage if the loss is significant, the matter involves cross-border platforms or banks, the complainant is a minor or in a vulnerable position, or the conduct is borderline between civil and criminal. The advocate tests whether the offence elements are made out, organises the evidence package and drafts the narrative so the case file is complete on first submission. After FIR registration, an advocate is essential for the trial, bail applications and any High Court appeal. Alpine Law Associates' criminal practice handles cyber matters before the Cyber Bureau, the Kathmandu District Court and the High Court.

The Cyber Bureau hotline is 9851286770 (24 hours). The office numbers are 01-4219044 and 01-4214400. Email: cyberbureau@nepalpolice.gov.np. Online portal: cyberbureau.nepalpolice.gov.np. For urgent matters (active sextortion, financial fraud in progress, threats to life or safety), call the hotline first; for documented matters with evidence, the online portal is faster and creates a reference number immediately.

The Cyber Bureau headquarters is at Bhotahiti, Kathmandu, inside the Nepal Police Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) campus. The Bureau was established in 2017 and coordinates with District Police Offices across all 77 districts for complaint intake outside the Kathmandu Valley. Visit in person during office hours; outside hours, use the hotline or online portal.

The Bureau has working relationships with major platforms through their law-enforcement liaison channels — Meta's Law Enforcement Online Request System (LEORS), Google's Law Enforcement Request System (LERS), TikTok and Viber direct contacts, and Interpol for cross-border coordination. Through these channels the Bureau requests account information, IP logs, preserved content, and (where applicable) account suspension. Platform response times vary; sensitive matters (terrorism, child safety) move fastest. Routine cyber-defamation requests typically take weeks.

Recovery depends on speed. Nepal Rastra Bank directives require banks to attempt transaction reversal within 24 hours if reported promptly, and to freeze receiving accounts before withdrawal where suspicion is raised. Call your bank immediately — that is faster than the Cyber Bureau route for money recovery. The Cyber Bureau's role is investigation and prosecution under ETA Section 51 (computer fraud) plus parallel BAFIA 2073 banking-fraud charges where applicable; money recovery itself goes through the bank channel.

The Bureau treats complainant identities with operational confidentiality during investigation and does not routinely disclose them to the alleged perpetrator. However, formal complaints become part of the prosecution file once charges are filed — at that stage, full disclosure to the defence is procedural. Where the complainant fears retaliation, file through counsel with confidentiality requests built into the complaint, and seek protective orders during the proceedings.

The online complaint portal at cyberbureau.nepalpolice.gov.np typically routes complaints into four practical categories: (1) Financial fraud — OTP fraud, phishing, online banking compromise, crypto scams; (2) Social media offences — fake profiles, online defamation, hate speech, harassment; (3) Sexual cyber offences — sextortion, image-without-consent, online grooming, child sexual abuse material; (4) Hacking and unauthorised access — account takeover, system intrusion, data theft. Select the category that best matches the conduct; the Bureau triages internally.

Investigation timeframes vary widely. Straightforward cases — clear bank trail, identifiable perpetrator, single-platform evidence — typically run 1 to 3 months. Complex cases involving cross-border perpetrators, anonymous accounts, multiple platforms, or technical forensics can run 6 to 18 months. The Bureau's caseload is high (thousands of complaints annually) and prioritisation favours sensitive matters (child safety, large financial loss, threats to life). Following up periodically with the assigned officer keeps the file moving.

Yes — many cyber complaints are filed against unknown perpetrators (anonymous accounts, deepfake operators, unidentified fraudsters). The Bureau's investigation function is partly to identify the perpetrator through platform liaison, technical forensics, and bank-trail analysis. Provide all identifying clues you have (username, phone number, account ID, profile URL, timing pattern, language style) even where you cannot name the person; these become the investigation starting points.

If the investigation finds sufficient evidence, the Bureau files an FIR and forwards the case to the Government Attorney for prosecution decision. The prosecutor then files charges at the IT Tribunal (for pure ETA offences) or the District Court (for mixed cyber + Criminal Code cases). The complainant is notified and may be called as a witness. If the investigation finds insufficient evidence, the file may be closed with reasons; the complainant can challenge closure or refile with additional evidence.

Yes. Alpine Law Associates handles end-to-end Cyber Bureau work — evidence preservation, complaint drafting and filing, bank-freeze applications for financial fraud, platform escalation through Meta / Google / TikTok / Viber abuse channels, IT Tribunal and District Court representation, and IT Appellate Tribunal or High Court appeals. We also represent clients on the defence side facing ETA Section 47 charges or other cyber-offence prosecutions. Speak with our lawyers today →