The Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh said it had received reports from 1,440 Indonesian citizens released from fraud centers. Meanwhile, long lines of Chinese citizens were seen lined up outside the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia.
Amnesty International said it has located 15 videos and images as well as reviewed posts on social networks showing that at least 10 fraud facilities across Cambodia have released people.
There is no exact figure on the number of people released, but Amnesty International estimates it is up to thousands of people.
According to Regional Research Director of Amnesty International Montse Ferrer, there are concerns about the lack of support for those released from online scams.
Without support, there is a risk that these people will be transferred to new fraud locations, a trend that has occurred in previous releases.
Online scams have developed strongly in some regions of Southeast Asia in recent years, including Cambodia. The United Nations estimates that there are 100,000 people working inside scam dens in Cambodia. Many people are scammed to work in scam dens, are illegally detained and forced to commit online scams, including love scams - investment scams and cryptocurrency scams.
Scholar Jacob Sims at the Harvard University Asia Center said that recent releases are unprecedented at fraud dens in Cambodia.
Clearly these things all stem from international pressure, which has accumulated for many years, increasing and actually increasing exponentially with the historic action on October 14, 2025 of Britain and the United States with Chen Zhi" - he said.
Cambodian-Chinese fraud boss Chen Zhi was punished by Britain and the United States in October 2025 on charges of operating a "cross-border criminal empire" through online investment scams.
Chen Zhi, Chairman of Prince Corporation, was arrested and extradited to China in early January 2026. This is considered the strongest move ever against criminal gangs operating in Cambodia.
According to estimates by the American Peace Institute, in Cambodia, profits from online scams are estimated to exceed 12.5 billion USD per year.
