Scam Compound Crackdowns in Cambodia Trigger Run on Embassies

People line up in front of the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh on January 19, 2026. Photo by STR / AFP

Hundreds of Chinese and other nationals are flooding embassies in Cambodia following intensified crackdowns on scam centers. Escapees from the fraud hubs, which frequently run on trafficked labor, are gathering outside embassies in Phnom Penh to try to arrange repatriation.

Similar crowds are reportedly gathering at the Bavet border crossing between Cambodia and Vietnam, trying to leave the country. Many lack travel documents and have been stranded in Cambodia. 

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by CGSP Staff

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