Background
Marinan International is a licensed casino in Poipet City. It goes by the name Golden Sands International (金沙国际) in Chinese. It was identified as an online scam site in a 2025 report by Amnesty International, which described how, as of mid-2024, parts of the property were surrounded by perimeter fence and entrances controlled by security guards.
Amnesty spoke with one person in 2025 who said they spent under a month at the site after being lied to during recruitment. The person claimed they were surrounded by security when they arrived to prevent them from leaving. Amnesty determined that based on this testimony the person was ‘highly likely trafficked to the site for the purpose of forced labour or identity theft [and] deprived of their liberty’.
Incidents
In November 2025 the property was raided. Videos and images shared across telegram channels showed large numbers of police surrounding and entering the property. Buses could be seen arriving to remove people, but dozens fled and were filmed walking away from the property.
Police arrested 37 people, including 30 Indonesians, five Chinese and two Cambodians. According to state media, the group posed as law enforcement, online loan providers, money exchange operators, and digital currency dealers to defraud their victims.
Which Actors and Companies Have Been Linked to Marinan International Casino?
Marinan International Co., Ltd. was granted a casino licence for Marinan International Casino in December 2022. The chair is Cambodian and company records list one director who is a Chinese national.
The chair, Chhin Sopheavin, is also a director of the company Crown Takeo Co., Ltd.
Crown Takeo was chaired by Kee Kok Thiam, who was a suspect in the 1MDB scandal, in which billions of dollars were embezzled from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund. Kee was reportedly a trusted associate of 1MDB fugitive Jho Low, and was deported from Macau in 2023 after which he was questioned and released by anti-corruption officials in Malaysia. Kee died a few weeks later from a stroke.
Chhim has also sat on the board of directors of two companies alongside Clement Woo (aka Woo Kee Mun), a Malaysian who acquired Cambodian nationality in 2014. Al Jazeera reported Woo to be a supporter of Najib Razak and an acquaintance of his wife. Najib himself was sentenced to 12 years in jail for his role in the 1MDB scandal.
There is no evidence indicating that Marinan International Co., Ltd. or individuals connected to the company are directly involved in online criminal activity, but there is evidence to indicate that space inside the property is at least being provided to those who are.
Location of Marinan International Casino
Marinan International Casino in the News
2025
12 November: ‘Joint Forces Arrest 37 in Poipet Online Scam Raid’, Agence Kampuchea Presse. Link.
12 November: ‘柬埔寨警方突袭波比电诈窝点 拘捕5名中国人和30名印尼人 [Cambodian Police Raided a Telecom Fraud Ring In Poipet, Arresting Five Chinese Nationals and 30 Indonesians]’, Cambodia-China Times. Link.
12 November: ‘ឃាត់ខ្លួនជនបរទេស និងខ្មែរចំចំនួន៣៧នាក់ ពាក់ព័ន្ធនឹងបទល្មើសឆបោកតាមប្រព័ន្ធបច្ចេកវិទ្យា នៅទីតាំងកាស៊ីណូម៉ារីណាន នៅក្រុងប៉ោយប៉ែត [37 Foreigners and Cambodians Arrested In Connection With Cyber Fraud At Marina Casino In Poipet]’, Nokorwat News Daily. Link.
11 November: ‘打诈的风刮到了波贝 今日一园区被扫荡 [The Crackdown On Fraud Has Reached Poipet, With One Industrial Park Being Raided Today]’, On the Grounds. Link.
26 June: Amnesty International, ‘I Was Someone Else’s Property’: Slavery, Human Trafficking And Torture In Cambodia’s Scamming Compounds. Link.
