Cambodian authorities detained 2,508 foreign suspects of seven nationalities in technology-enabled fraud cases from January to early February 2026, according to a report released on February 5 by the Ad Hoc Commission for Combating Technology-Based Scams.
From January 1 to early February 2026, capital and provincial unified commands and law-enforcement agencies cracked down on and shut off scam operations at 190 locations. These included 44 casinos in Preah Sihanouk, Kampot, Kandal, Svay Rieng, Phnom Penh, Pursat, Prey Veng and Mondulkiri. Authorities detained 2,508 suspects from Nepal, China, Malaysia, Laos, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, seized various items including computers, phones and SIM cards, and prepared case files for legal procedures.
Major cases included the arrest and initiation of court procedures against some ringleaders and accomplices, and raids on premises used for online fraud, including schemes impersonating different law-enforcement agencies to defraud people abroad. Cambodian authorities also cooperated with counterparts from China, the United States, South Korea and other countries to continue investigations into the organised networks behind these cases.
The commission added that specialist forces across the capital and provinces were continuing raids to dismantle technology-scam networks, with further large-scale operations based on clear investigations and cooperation with partners. It said these operations prompted 110,095 foreign nationals from six countries—China, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan—to leave Cambodia between January and early February 2026. The government set April 2026 as the final deadline to clear online-scam sites from the country; if online offences persisted in any capital or province after April, the officials administering that jurisdiction would be accountable to the government.
By: Nget Pisant
