March 27, 2026 | 07:19 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Embassy (KBRI) in Cambodia has recorded that as many as 6,308 Indonesian citizens have reported after exiting an online scam syndicate from January 16 to March 26, 2026. This number has surged compared to last year's 5,088 reports.
The Charge d'Affaires Ad Interim (KUAI) of the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Khrishnajie, stated that Indonesian citizens who requested assistance from the embassy to return to their homeland. "Out of this number, the embassy has facilitated the repatriation of 2,528 Indonesian citizens to Indonesia gradually," he said in a written statement on Friday, March 27, 2026.
Krishnajie noted that they have issued Travel Documents as Substitute for Passports (SPLP) for 2,346 Indonesian citizens who claimed not to have passports. The embassy coordinated with local authorities to waive overstay fines for 4,361 Indonesian citizens in Cambodia.
Khrisnajie predicted that, considering the ongoing crackdown on the online scam industry in Cambodia, the number of reports from Indonesian citizens in the country will continue to increase. "The Cambodian government aims to make its territory free from online scam syndicate activities before the Khmer New Year celebration in mid-April 2026. This target has contributed to the increasing number of Indonesian citizens exiting the network," he said.
The Indonesian Ambassador to Cambodia, Santo Darmo Sumarto, previously stated that they had conducted an early assessment of the thousands of Indonesian citizens who reported. According to the assessment, most of the reporting citizens were unable to return because they had no passports and had to pay significant immigration fines for overstaying.
Furthermore, Santo mentioned that they have not found indications of human trafficking in this incident. He stated that the assessment revealed that most of the Indonesian citizens who reported themselves admitted to being involved in online scams that have harmed Indonesian society.
Therefore, the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh continues to coordinate with law enforcement agencies in the homeland for further assessment of the reporting citizens. Santo ensured that the citizens would be inspected upon arrival in Indonesia. "The embassy will ensure that upon their arrival in Jakarta, they will undergo further inspection by relevant parties," he said on Sunday, February 15, 2026.
According to Santo, the inspection aims to complement the early assessment conducted when citizens reported to the embassy. It is hoped that the authorities can determine their level of involvement in online scam activities and the legal actions to be taken in the future.
Meanwhile, the surge in reports from Indonesian citizens to the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh is due to its local authorities' crackdown on scam businesses since January 2026. Santo stated that several main perpetrators of the syndicate in various cities have been arrested. As a result, the syndicate disbanded and allowed its workers to leave.
Read: Taiwan Indicts 62 Linked to Alleged Scam Center in Cambodia
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