Pakistan, Cambodia agree to repatriate 54 nationals detained in fraudulent raid

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FO) announced on Tuesday that the government and Cambodia have formally agreed to repatriate 54 Pakistani nationals detained in Siem Reap province, following their arrest during a raid on a fraud resort.

Reports indicate that more than 200 Pakistani nationals are currently detained in Cambodia. They were allegedly lured by deceptive means and then integrated into illegal operations run by criminal networks. Following the repression carried out by the Cambodian authorities, they were arrested and remain detained in difficult conditions.

In a statement posted on his X account, FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said the Pakistan Embassy in Cambodia had actively pursued the matter with the Cambodian government.

“This is in line with the instructions of the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister to all missions of Pakistan that assistance to the overseas Pakistani community is a top priority,” the statement said.

“Our embassy staff are taking measures to ensure the well-being of detained Pakistanis,” the statement added, noting that the detainees will leave Cambodia once flight arrangements are finalized.

He added that, as a gesture of goodwill, Cambodian authorities had agreed to repatriate all detainees without legal action against them under the “Combating Online Scams Law”, which came into force on April 7 and which provided for significant prison terms and heavy fines.

A multi-billion dollar scam industry has grown in Cambodia in recent years, with thousands of people involved – some willingly and others under duress from organized crime groups, experts say.

According to Amnesty International, the Cambodian government is deliberately ignoring widespread human rights violations, including slavery, human trafficking, child labor and torture, carried out by criminal gangs in more than 50 fraud complexes across the country.

In its 240-page report last year, Amnesty said it interviewed more than 50 survivors from different countries and identified at least 53 scam complexes in Cambodia.

“Amnesty’s research reveals the horrific scale of a crisis that Cambodian authorities are not doing enough to end. Their failures have emboldened a criminal network whose tentacles stretch internationally, with millions of people affected by the scams,” the report said.

Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department named Kok An – a Cambodian senator who controls fraud schemes across the country – and 28 individuals and entities in his network for defrauding Americans.