More than 400 Indonesians released by online scam syndicates in Cambodia seek repatriation as authorities crack down on the illicit industry
PHNOM PENH: More than 400 Indonesians were freed by cyberscam networks in Cambodia this month, Jakarta said on Monday.
The move follows a fresh crackdown by Phnom Penh after the arrest of an alleged boss of the illicit industry.
From January 1-18, 440 Indonesians came to the embassy in Phnom Penh after they were “released by online scam syndicates”, according to a post on Instagram.
Many were seeking to return home, Indonesia’s ambassador to Cambodia, Santo Darmosumarto, said in a video posted to social media.
Recent Cambodian law enforcement measures resulted in “many online scam syndicates… letting their workers go”, he stated.
“Because Cambodia’s crackdown will continue, the embassy predicts many more will flow in from the provinces,” Santo added.
Some who went to the embassy were “involved in online scams for years, some only arrived in Cambodia a few months ago”, he explained.
“Some still hold their passports, while others had their passports confiscated by the syndicates,” the ambassador said.
Santo said the embassy would expedite repatriations but all Indonesians were “being directed to return home independently”.
He also warned against getting involved in criminal activity abroad.
Dozens of people, some with suitcases, lined up outside the Indonesian embassy on Monday morning.
An 18-year-old from Indonesia’s Sumatra said he fled a compound in Bavet city, near Cambodia’s border with Vietnam.
He told AFP he was forced to scam people online for eight months without pay despite being promised $600 per month.
“They heard police were coming inside the compound, so they let everyone go,” he said.
The man arrived in Phnom Penh on Sunday and came to the embassy to ask for a new passport because his was “with a Chinese boss”.
About 100 people were also queueing outside the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh on Monday afternoon.
Those approached by AFP declined to speak.
China’s foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing “attaches great importance to the safety of Chinese citizens overseas”.
He was asked at a regular news briefing about the lines outside the embassy in Cambodia.
Cambodia arrested and deported Chinese-born tycoon Chen Zhi, accused of running internet scam operations, to China this month.
Chen, a former Cambodian government adviser, was indicted by US authorities in October.
Scammers working from hubs across Southeast Asia net tens of billions of dollars each year.
They lure internet users globally into fake romances and cryptocurrency investments.
Hundreds of foreign nationals have left suspected scam compounds across Cambodia this month.
The government pledged to “eliminate” problems related to the online fraud trade.
The United Nations says the industry employs at least 100,000 people in Cambodia alone.
