Phnom Penh authorities have turned to the city’s status symbols of development to uncover lurking scam operations with less than a month left till their self-imposed deadline to eliminate scams.
One targeted area is Chbar Ampov district’s luxury Borey Peng Huoth gated housing, known for its “Euro Park” replicas of Big Ben, the Sydney Opera House and other Western landmarks.
Wide, tree-lined streets pass through a series of guarded housing areas, where large, identical neoclassical houses stand in rows. Security guards said over the weekend that there had been near-daily raids and fleeing foreigners in recent days.
Another area is Koh Pich, or “Diamond Island,” with its giant Arc de Triomphe imitation and streets named after those in Paris, developed by tycoon Pung Kheav Se’s OCIC Group after original residents were forced to leave the farming island 20 years ago.
Its high-rise office blocks stand over Koh Pich theater, where the government held its anti-human trafficking event last week. An adjacent lot held an outdoor K-Pop concert over the weekend.
Skyscrapers next to the island, part of the country’s construction boom of recent years, have also been raided.
Tonle Bassac deputy commune chief Hor Vannak said authorities had 72 locations to inspect in the commune, including 22 on Koh Pich, four of which were within borey gated housing areas.
“We have found 16 cases and now we are cooperating with each other to inspect more. … We have arrested a lot of people. … We have not calculated the total number of people yet because there have been so many,” he said.
More than 100 foreign workers had been removed from Morgan Tower, on Koh Pich; some 120 Cambodians and 50 foreigners were taken from the Penthouse, which is close to the commune’s Aeon Mall complex, he said. “There have been many people in other locations too.”
He listed gated communities Rose Condo and Elite Town among the 16 locations where online operations were found, and said Chinese, Indonesian and Philippine nationals were among the workers removed.
Authorities have also been targeting cryptocurrency exchanges, and had shut down locations at The Bridge and nearby.
No materials were found inside the Prince Group headquarters on Koh Pich, but it was closed down alongside Chen Zhi’s house nearby, he said.
Recent Incidents
The Peak, March 1
Authorities inspected The Peak, a large, recent development on the Tonle Bassac river. Photos showed people arrested, phones and other equipment seized, and rooms being closed off. One notice taped to a closed door said Phnom Penh deputy governor Ek Khundoeurn had ordered the location closed for illegally committing online scams. (Daun Penh district)
Noden Hotel & Apartment, Tonle Bassac, March 1
City officials inspected Noden Hotel & Apartment off Norodom Blvd. and detained 24 Indonesian nationals after finding illegal online gaming activities. (AKP)
Chongqing Chamber of Commerce, Tonle Bassac, March 1
Phnom Penh officials seized evidence of alleged online scams as well as drugs from the Chongqing Chamber of Commerce in Tonle Bassac’s village 15. They confiscated 44 computers, 34 monitors, 27 CPUs and three laptops. (Jian Hua Daily)
Sen Sok, February 28
Sen Sok police rescued a Bangladeshi kidnapping victim from house No. 495 on Concrete Road in Kouk Khleang commune’s Damnak district. The victim was allegedly being held captive and tortured by a cybercriminal network. Two Bangladeshi suspects were arrested and two remained at large. Authorities found 14 Bangladeshi nationals living there, 10 of whom did not have passports. (Information Ministry, AKP)
February 28
Some 335 Chinese nationals were deported in a special aircraft in relation to online scams, drugs, illegal border crossings and other transgressions. (Immigration Department)
Gia Tower, Koh Pich, February 27
District authorities inspected Gia Tower on Koh Pich island. (Daun Penh district)
Diamond Twin Tower, Koh Pich, February 26
District authorities shut down rooms suspected of online gambling fraud at the Diamond Twin Tower on Koh Pich island. (Daun Penh district)
Borey Peng Huoth, Chbar Ampov, February 26
Authorities detained 81 foreign nationals — 72 from China and nine from Myanmar — from the luxury Borey Peng Huoth gated housing development for alleged involvement in online romance scams. A house on street R-04 was shut down for alleged use in online scams and two other houses were closed for alleged SIM card and ID-related offenses. (RFI, Thmey Thmey)
The Elysee, Koh Pich, February 26
Police shut down house number B2-078 over alleged online scam operations in Koh Pich’s Elysee development. (Fresh News)
Star City, Sen Sok, February 25
Police detained 21 foreign nationals — 16 Chinese, one Indian, two Pakistani and two Nepalese — from the ninth floor of the Star City complex for suspected involvement in cybercrime operations. Computers and mobile phones were seized. (Kampuchea Thmey)
The Elysee, Koh Pich, February 25
A Phnom Penh judge placed two Chinese men, Wang Zongqing and Liu Dinghua, in pretrial detention over alleged fraud committed at The Elysee on Koh Pich island. Fresh News said legal cases had been started against 500 suspects considered to have organized scam operations, including Prince Group chairman Chen Zhi and tycoon Ly Kuong. (Fresh News)
February 25
Officials hosted an anti-human trafficking event on Koh Pich island announcing that around 30,000 foreign nationals have been deported and 210,000 have left the country voluntarily. (Interior Ministry)
Diamond Star, Tonle Bassac, February 24
Three Chinese men and four Cambodian women were removed from the “Diamond Star” in Tonle Bassac’s village 14. The village is likely on Koh Pich island. References to a Diamond Star building could not be found, though the Prince Group advertised a “Diamond Apartment” complex on Koh Pich, also referred to as “Diamond One” on real estate listings. Authorities alleged it was a site of romance and sex-based scams, and seized 23 computers and 38 mobile phones. (TVK)
Borey Peng Huoth, Chbar Ampov, February 21
Guns, grenades and drugs were seized alongside 13 Chinese nationals in Borey Peng Huoth. (Kampuchea Thmey)
February 21
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court ordered the imprisonment of four Chinese nationals, Lin Dongping, Lin Wutong, Sun Jiaxiu and Lai Zuoxiang, over alleged online scams and tax evasion committed in Phnom Penh. (TVK)
February 12
Phnom Penh authorities announced a deadline of March 30 for eliminating online scams in their jurisdictions. (Kampuchea Thmey)
February 11
A Chinese suspect was arrested in Preah Sihanouk province over the shooting of a woman in Phnom Penh’s Chamkar Mon district. (Kampuchea Thmey)
The Bridge, Skyline, Sky Tree, PNN, Marry Time, Mien Roub Mkodi, February 4
Authorities searched — but did not find scam operations in — six buildings across Phnom Penh: The Bridge in Chamkarmon; The Skyline near O’Russei Market; Sky Tree Residence and Hotel in Russei Keo district; the “PNN” building in Chroy Changva district, possibly referring to the TV station on Ly Yongphat Street; the “Marry Time” building in Meanchey district; and the “Mien Roub Mkodi” building in Daun Penh district. References to the last two could not be found. (Kampuchea Thmey)
February 3-18
Phnom Penh authorities announced they had raided 40 online scam sites out of more than 2,700 suspected sites, including condominiums, apartments, borey gated housing, guesthouses and hotels. Some 284 foreign nationals, from Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Vietnam, were removed. One Cambodia, one Singaporean and 22 Chinese nationals were suspected of being ringleaders. (Kampuchea Thmey)
Prince Group, Koh Pich, January 28
A notice on Prince Group headquarters on Koh Pich dated January 28 said evidence was seized and the location was closed down on order of investigating judge Sam Veasna.
January 27
A deputy traffic chief for the Sen Sok district police was questioned over allegedly illegally taking $160,000 to process documents for 10 Taiwanese nationals. (Kampuchea Thmey)
January 27
A first Chinese suspect was arrested in Preah Sihanouk province over the shooting of a woman in Phnom Penh’s Chamkar Mon district. (Kampuchea Thmey)
Tonle Bassac, January 26
Police and National Bank officials shut down cryptocurrency USDT exchange shops — on a Royal Group project on Hun Sen Blvd., and two others near the Royal Group’s Soho Mall. Authorities said they would return to Royal Group the two locations, which were the site of the violent eviction of the “Dey Krahom” community in the late 2000s. (Fresh News)
Borey Peng Huoth, Chbar Ampov, early January
National police detained 32 South Koreans over alleged online fraud from four locations in Borey Peng Huoth, Chbar Ambov district. (National police)
Chamkar Mon, January 5
Police arrested three Chinese nationals for alleged kidnapping, torture and extortion on the 39th and 40th floors of the “Hua Hui Quan Xi Jian Tang Hotel” in the “Hua San International” building on Tonle Bassac’s village 14, possibly referring to the Huangshan International building on Koh Pich. The group was suspected of being involved in several previous cases. (Kampuchea Thmey)