The fact that hundreds of Nepalis are still trapped in cyber fraud centers in Cambodia has been made public. The Nepali Embassy has written to the Cambodian government to waive the fine for overstaying and send them home, saying that they were taken to a fraud center. In addition, an additional 100 Nepalis have been arrested and placed in a shelter by the Cambodian administration. They were arrested from a fraud center in the Cambodian capital on Thursday. 

According to the Nepali Embassy in Thailand, which handles Cambodian affairs, those arrested in police raids have come in contact with the embassy. The embassy is in contact with Nepalis in Simli and Nomten. 'The exact number of people in Simli has not yet been reported. We have asked them to send a list of everyone. Once, a list of 21 people was received. The next time, a list of 18 people came,' Deputy Chief of the Embassy Moti Bahadur Shrish told Kantipur, 'As many as 60 people are in Nomten.'

The embassy said that it was a public holiday and that it had not been possible to contact Cambodian officials regarding the last raid and arrest. 'We have not received any formal information. We are in contact with the arrested Nepalis,' Shrish said. He said that it would be easier to send them home after they were arrested by the police. 

According to a Nepali arrested in the raid on Thursday, more than 60 Nepalis have been kept in one camp. 'There was shooting during the raid. We did not run away. We surrendered. Then they brought us to the shelter. We had to be rescued immediately,' a Nepali who came in contact with Kantipur said over the phone, 'We are innocent. Hundreds of Nepalis have been trapped. Many Nepalis have fled.'

They were forcibly recruited into an online fraud center. They reached the fraud center through the Nepali's own contacts. ‘The Nepalis who work here call them Chinese. The Chinese don’t charge money to bring people. They need people. They call them security guards, bodyguards. When they said it would cost eight hundred thousand rupees, we paid,’ said the second victim, ‘They bring them here on a tourist visa. There is a group that brings them here. There is another that employs them. The managers of some of the groups that employ them are Nepalis. I paid $1,200 for employing them. I bought the tickets myself. I paid a separate amount for the arrangements.’

The victims claim that when they bring workers, they don’t call them scamming centers. ‘They don’t say that there will be fear here tomorrow. They don’t say that the police can raid and arrest them, or put them in jail. They take them with the promise that they will give you a one-year visa,’ said the second victim, ‘We have been raided many times before. As soon as they learned of the raid, they were taken to another location.’

Cambodia has been accused of being the second largest destination for online fraud operations after Myanmar. In June 2025, research released by Amnesty International identified 53 fraud compounds operating in 16 cities in Cambodia. The report documented serious crimes such as human trafficking, torture, forced and child labor, illegal detention, and modern slavery taking place in those locations. Despite the government’s repeated announcements of action, it has ‘failed’ to address the crisis, Amnesty said, indicating a ‘passive acquiescence’ to human rights violations.

A third victim who came into contact with Kantipur said that once inside the company’s compound, they were unable to come out. ‘The world inside is different. Even our passports are in their possession. Once inside, there is no chance of coming out,’ he said. ‘There are Cambodian guards at the gate. If the police catch you when you come out without a passport, it costs a lot of money. You can neither come out nor stay inside. They didn't give me my passport even before I went home. I had asked for my passport within two days of coming in.' 

Based on conversations with five people, Kantipur has found that Nepalis who work as security guards at the fraud center have paid between 800,000 and 1000,000 rupees. 'This money is shared by the Nepalis. The salary is usually 800 to 1,000 dollars. Food is given inside. It's like a prison,' said the fourth victim, 'We had to work as hostages. They used to lie to us that we were in the process of getting a visa to work. In fact, we didn't get a visa.'

According to the victim, the Nepali who came first deliberately lured another Nepali to earn money despite knowing it. 'They made us scapegoats to get money. It only costs 200,000 rupees to come here. However, they took 800,000 rupees from us. They take the money in cash after they reach Cambodia. They don't let you put it in the bank,' he said, 'Even the Nepalis who call you that are working inside.'

According to the Nepali victims, this network will not be broken unless strict action is taken. 'If we don't bring in Nepalis, no one will be enough,' said the fifth victim, 'We were called casino security guards. I came thinking that I was a security guard in Dubai.' According to the victim, he said that he was given the responsibility of monitoring the activities of the workers. 'If we had known that this was a job, no Nepalis would have come. We will monitor whether the scammers escape or not.' The victim said, 'Personal security should also be given to the mafia inside. Only the old ones are allowed to talk to the Chinese boss inside. The new ones are not allowed to talk at all. We don't even understand their language.'

They were all taken from the Indian airport. 'The scamming center inside is very large. There are buildings inside the wall spread over about 6 bighas of land. Wires are installed on the wall. Once inside, there is no possibility of coming out. "As soon as we find out that we have done something wrong inside, we feel insecure," said another victim. "Nepalese people don't even dare to come out." A Nepali involved in cheating through chat said that he traps people in stages. "In the first stage, friendships are formed online. We exchange things we like. We win trust by showing our backgrounds. Then we reveal each other's assets and financial status," he said. "The mafias who employ us have created hundreds of fake accounts. Customers are invited to invest in them. Where we present false success stories." He said that once they are tempted to invest, Chinese 'mentors' lead them to the fraud platform. If they fail in this task, they are beaten up. A Nepali security guard said that they are forced to participate in the beatings. “Those who can’t make money from scamming are beaten for not working,” he said. According to the Nepalese embassy, ​​there are 15 Nepalis in Cambodian prisons on murder and kidnapping charges. 

According to the US Institute of Peace, cyber fraud generates more than $12.5 billion annually in Cambodia, which is almost half of the country’s official gross domestic product (GDP). But in a recent interview with AFP, Prime Minister Hun Sen denied claims that the country was dependent on the industry. Cambodia said it was launching its toughest crackdown on online fraud ever, following mounting pressure from China and the US. It said it had begun raiding fraud centers across the country and evacuating workers from closed compounds. 

According to Chhay Sinarith, head of the Secretariat of the Commission for the Control of Online Fraud (CCOS), 110,095 foreigners from six countries had been deported by January and early February. In addition, 210,000 foreigners had left Cambodia voluntarily, according to government figures.