Cambodia has deported more than 1,000 foreign nationals in the first five days of April as part of an intensified crackdown on online scam operations and other illegal activities, according to the General Department of Immigration.
In a statement, the department said that between April 1 and April 5, authorities expelled 1,084 individuals from 27 nationalities following orders from Sok Veasna, director general of the agency. The deportations were carried out by investigation and law enforcement units targeting a range of offences.
Officials said those removed were linked to crimes including illegal border crossings, document forgery, overstaying without valid passports, extortion, the use of fake visas including fraudulent QR codes, online scams, and unlawful employment. Nearly 500 of those deported, 480 individuals, were Chinese nationals connected to online fraud cases.
Those expelled also included nationals from countries such as Uganda, Pakistan, Rwanda, Kenya, Nepal, Indonesia, Ghana, the Philippines, Cameroon, India, Russia, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Laos, the United States, Uzbekistan, Japan, Ethiopia, South Korea, Myanmar, Burundi, Sudan, and Sierra Leone.
The immigration authority said the deportations reflect the government’s strict enforcement of the law to eliminate technology-based crime, particularly organised online scam networks and their leaders.
The move follows a broader pledge by the Interior Ministry on February 5, 2026, to eradicate online scams nationwide by April, as Cambodia has faced growing international scrutiny over its role as a hub for such operations.
However, Amnesty International said in a report released on April 2 that more than 10 casino compounds in Cambodia had been linked to online scams, human trafficking, and torture. The report added that some of these casinos were granted licences by the country’s commercial gambling regulator between December 2025 and January 2026, despite the government’s ongoing crackdown on what it has described as a black economy.
In response, authorities have taken action against several venues. On April 5, regulators revoked the licence of the Gang Dao casino in Sihanoukville and arrested 108 suspects, including 105 Chinese nationals and three from Myanmar, over alleged involvement in online scams.
Earlier, on April 3, the same body withdrew the licence of Shanghai Resort casino in Svay Rieng province after investigators uncovered similar activities linked to cyber fraud.
A report from the Interior Ministry on March 17 said that between January 1 and March 14, Cambodian authorities arrested 5,771 suspects from 23 nationalities in connection with online crimes, following raids on 98 locations across 13 provinces and cities.
