Woman escapes scam centre in Cambodia, 7 Bangladeshis in Iraq regain passports
Through the efforts of the Expatriate's Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury, arrangements have been made for a 34-year-old Bangladeshi woman to return home after escaping from a scam centrre in Cambodia, says a press release.
According to the embassy, with the help of the Bangkok Embassy and using a travel pass, the rescued woman is expected to return home within the next week.
According to sources, the woman went to Cambodia in August 2025 through a travel agency. She was taken there under the pretense of computer work and high wages.
However, upon arrival, her passport was confiscated, and she was held captive in a scam centre where she was forced to engage in various financial fraud activities, such as scamming money via mobile phones and the Internet. Despite multiple attempts, she failed to escape from there.
Finally, on 20 May 2026, she managed to escape the scam centre, evading the eyes of the agents. She took refuge at an unknown location and contacted the Minister of Expatriate Welfare and Foreign Employment, Ariful Haque Chowdhury, through a direct WhatsApp call to seek assistance in returning home.
Upon receiving the call, the minister contacted the labour counselor at the Bangkok Embassy and instructed them to assist the woman. Embassy officials confirmed her location through a video call and, with the help of the Bangladeshi community in Cambodia, rescued her from the city of Phnom Penh. The Bangkok Embassy indicates that efforts to repatriate her to Bangladesh through issuing a travel pass with the cooperation of the Cambodian government are currently underway.
Meanwhile, following complaints from Bangladeshi expatriates in Iraq on 20 May, the Expatriate Welfare Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury instructed the Bangladesh Embassy in Iraq to investigate and take necessary actions.
During the investigation, embassy officials found evidence that a company had confiscated the passports of seven Bangladeshi expatriates. Through the efforts of the embassy officials, these seven expatriates regained possession of their passports today.
Upon receiving their passports, the expatriates expressed their desire to continue working in Iraq and stated that they had arranged their own employment there.
In response to complaints filed by the families of two Bangladeshi expatriates in Iraq alleging physical abuse, the minister ordered the Iraq Embassy to take necessary actions.
The complaint claimed that two Bangladeshis, named Rizu Mia and Ailan Mia, fell prey to agents after reaching Iraq through a recruiting agency.
The agents allegedly held them captive and subjected them to physical abuse, while not providing them with adequate food.
During the investigation, embassy officials found the two Bangladeshis in a rented building in the Arasat residential area in Baghdad.
However, there was no evidence of physical abuse or starvation. With the help of the embassy, both individuals were returned to Bangladesh from Iraq through the recruiting agency on 7 May.