Fraudsters flee Cambodia's 'scam city' after accused boss taken down

Cambodia's arrest of accused scam boss Chen Zhi and crackdown on several alleged internet fraud sites prompted an exodus of workers across the country last week, writes Sally Jensen from Sihanoukville

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People walk past the Jinbei Casino, currently under renovation and part of a suspected compound built and operated by accused scam boss Chen Zhi's Prince Group, in Sihanoukville on Wednesday. PHOTOS BY AFP

(PHOTOS BY AFP)

Hundreds of people dragged away suitcases, computer monitors, pets and furniture as they fled a suspected Cambodian cyberfraud centre, after the country's most wanted alleged scam kingpin was arrested and deported.

Boarding tuk-tuks, Lexus SUVs and tourist coaches, workers departed Amber Casino in the coastal city of Sihanoukville, one of the illicit trade's most notorious hubs.

"Cambodia is in upheaval," one Chinese man told AFP. "Nowhere is safe to work anymore," he said Thursday.

Similar scenes played out at alleged scam compounds across Cambodia last week as the government said it was cracking down on the multibillion-dollar industry.

But residents said many of the people working inside the tightly secured buildings moved out several days before the arrival of authorities, and an analyst dubbed it "anti-crime theatre".

From hubs across Southeast Asia, scammers lure internet users globally into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments.

Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, transnational crime groups have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal tens of billions of dollars annually from victims around the world.