Online crime: Cambodia may begin deportation of Nigerians.
3 min read
Considering the reckless business attitude and perhaps unlawful behavior of many Nigerians living in the Southeast Asian country of Cambodia, it may not surprise many if the authorities in the country of 16.77 million citizens decides to deport foreign nationals especially Nigerians. Many Nigerians between the ages of 20 to 33 have faced many legal battles and police cases concerning fraudulent activities especially online love scam. According to the Khmer Times, a Phnom Penh based English language newspaper, the crises of Nigerian nationals in Cambodia did not start in 2024; in 2022, a Nigerian man and his brother in-law were tried for fraud in a business deal of not less than $400,000.
Following the reports Umuaka Times monitored from Khmer Times, when the case got to court, “Judge Sokha said that they both were charged with two counts on “Fraud with Aggravating Circumstances” under Articles 377, 378 and 780 of Cambodia’s Criminal Code and with “Money Laundry” under Articles 27 and 38 of the Law on Anti-Money Laundering and Financing.”
Umuaka Times correspondents also came across a report from the Foundation of Investigative Journalism in a story titled, Nigerian, Wife Arrested for “Love Fraud” in Cambodia. From what the story said, the couple was arrested in the capital city of Cambodia over romance scam. It was also disclosed that the wife of the Nigerian man is a Cambodian. According to the newspaper, while trying to carry out the crime, “They pretended to be attractive females seeking potential partners on WhatsApp. After contacting a victim, they established a relationship online and then asked for money to pay for items they had ordered from abroad under the guise of a lover. The Anti-Technology Crime Department said that it had built a case and sent the suspects to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for further proceedings after investigating.”
Another report Umuaka Times came across was the arrest of two Nigerian men named Femi M. Wisdom, Spark Onwa and a Cambodian national named Thon Sarem by the anti-cybercrime department of the Cambodian authorities over online scam. The report which Umuaka Times obtained from eonsintelligence.com disclosed that “In March 2020, four Nigerian men were arrested in Cambodia, for alleged online fraud. The suspects were also arrested for kidnapping. The Police recovered 3 passports, 4 laptops, 8 cell phones, one SIM card Number, one yellow metal cord, 15,000 riel and US $5, 000 from the suspects.”
APNEWS reports that the United Nations has raised an alarm over the rise in the online scam in Cambodia where many were said to have been forced into online scam activities. “GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. human rights office says criminal gangs have forced hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Asia into participating in unlawful online scam operations, including false romantic ploys, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes.”
The report continues, “The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a new report, cites “credible sources” that at least 120,000 people in strife-torn Myanmar and roughly 100,000 in Cambodia “may be held in situations where they are forced to carry out online scams.”
The challenge as many have suggested is that about 100,000 Cambodians are said to be into online romance crime and more, but the country cannot deport her citizens but it can deport others. There is a reasonable number of Nigerian youths in Cambodia suspected to be into romance scam. Umuaka Times confirmed that there were fears in certain quarters across Nigeria last week which suggested that some Nigerians may be deported from Cambodia in the efforts of the country to clamp down on suspected criminals of online fraud.
