PHNOM PENH: A Poipet landlord has been arrested on suspicion of providing premises to technology-based fraud operators, as Cambodian authorities expand their scam suppression efforts.
While the August 21 arrest of the building owner signals increased scrutiny of property owners and other individuals suspected of enabling online scam operations, authorities have not yet announced formal charges against him, and the allegations remain subject to further investigation and court proceedings.
He owns two buildings in Poipet town’s Kbal Spean I village, O’Chrov commune, in Banteay Meanchey province, near the Thai border.
When the two buildings – one five stories, the other two – were raided, authorities found 223 people of eight nationalities, including 200 foreigners and 23 Cambodians.
Thai nationals formed the largest group, with 174 people, including 67 women. The others comprised 10 Bangladeshi men, eight Indonesian men, three Filipino women, two Chinese men, two Indian nationals, one a woman, and one Malaysian man.
The Cambodian group included 15 women.
The foreign nationals were transferred to the Kang Va centre, the provincial police headquarters and Poipet municipal police inspectorate while authorities investigated their circumstances and continued legal procedures.
A report from the Kingdom’s anti-scam commission did not specify whether the individuals found at the premises were suspected scam workers, nor did it clarify if they were willing participants or potential victims of trafficking.
Investigators seized equipment suspected of being connected to online fraud. The two buildings have been temporarily shuttered.
Prime Minister Hun Manet has warned that Cambodia will no longer provide a safe haven for technology-based fraud or other forms of transnational crime.
“Cambodia is not a place for technology criminals to use to commit fraud or transnational crimes,” he said, according to the commission.
“Any individual or entity behind these scam activities will face the most severe punishment, with zero tolerance,” he added.
According to the commission’s latest figures, Cambodian authorities raided 663 locations linked to suspected online scam activities between July 2025 and the end of August 2026.
Among them, 86 suspected scam compounds were closed and placed under government control as the authorities prepared to pursue asset confiscation through legal procedures.
More than US$300 million held in bank accounts linked to suspected illegal operations has also been frozen. Other assets remain subject to ongoing investigation, the commission said. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
