Sri Lanka is becoming a new base for international cyber-scam syndicates displaced from Southeast Asia, with police saying more than 1,000 foreign nationals have been arrested over alleged cybercrime in 2026 so far — more than double the 430 arrests recorded for the whole of 2024.
Most of those detained are Chinese, Vietnamese and Indian nationals, AFP reported, citing Sri Lankan authorities. Investigators believe scam networks pushed out of Cambodia and Myanmar — where governments have intensified crackdowns on industrial-scale fraud compounds — are shifting operations to Sri Lanka because of its relaxed visa regime and reliable internet infrastructure.
Police spokesman F.U. Wootler told AFP that recent raids had uncovered operations being run from venues ranging from luxury villas to ordinary office spaces. In one operation this week, officers carried out five raids in Galle and Matara districts, arresting 192 Indian nationals and 29 Nepalis. Another 280 foreign suspects were arrested near Colombo last week, while 135 Chinese nationals were detained in March at a suspected scam centre.
Authorities are separately examining whether the foreign cybercrime networks have any link to the recent Treasury cyber heist that cost Sri Lanka about US$2.5 million. Police have also warned landlords against renting properties to suspected scam operators, saying those who facilitate such activity could face legal action.
The displacement pattern mirrors what regional authorities have described for months — operators forced out of Myawaddy on the Thai-Myanmar border and Cambodian compounds searching for jurisdictions with weaker enforcement. The arrest tally is the clearest aggregate signal yet that Sri Lanka has moved up that list.
Sources: Newswire / AFP.
