Poipet Property Owner Detained Over Alleged Ties to Scam Operation

Cambodian authorities have arrested a landlord in Poipet on suspicion of renting out property to operators of technology-driven fraud schemes, part of a broadening crackdown on online scams across the country.

Um Sophal was taken into custody on August 21, a move that reflects growing attention on property owners and others believed to be facilitating cyber scam operations. Officials have not yet filed formal charges, and the case remains under investigation and subject to court proceedings.

Sophal owns two buildings located in Kbal Spean I village, O'Chrov commune, in Banteay Meanchey province's Poipet town, close to the Thai border.

During raids on the two structures — one with five floors and the other with two — authorities discovered 223 people representing eight nationalities. Of these, 200 were foreigners and 23 were Cambodian citizens.

The largest contingent was made up of Thai nationals, numbering 174, of whom 67 were women. The remainder included 10 men from Bangladesh, eight Indonesian men, three women from the Philippines, two Chinese men, two Indian nationals (one of them a woman), and one man from Malaysia. Among the Cambodians, 15 were women.

The foreign nationals were moved to the Kang Va centre, the provincial police headquarters, and the Poipet municipal police inspectorate as officials looked into their situations and pursued legal steps.

A statement from Cambodia's anti-scam commission did not indicate whether those found on the premises were suspected of being scam workers, nor did it say whether they were willing participants or possible trafficking victims.

Investigators confiscated equipment believed to be tied to online fraud operations, and both buildings have been temporarily closed.

Government Vows Zero Tolerance

Prime Minister Hun Manet has stated that Cambodia will no longer serve as a refuge for cyber fraud or other cross-border criminal activity.

"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.

The commission's most recent data shows that Cambodian authorities carried out raids at 663 sites connected to suspected online scam activity between July 2025 and the end of August 2026.

Of those, 86 suspected scam compounds were shut down and brought under government control as officials moved to seize assets through legal channels.

Authorities have also frozen more than $300 million held in bank accounts linked to suspected illegal operations, with further assets still under investigation, according to the commission.