Ghana has evacuated 85 citizens from Cambodia and is arranging the return of another 76, authorities said, amid concerns sparked by a fake online notice falsely claiming African nationals faced expulsion from the Southeast Asian country.

According to Daily Graphic, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said the evacuation process had begun before the circulation of the fraudulent document, which Cambodian authorities have since dismissed as false.

"I can assure Ghanaians that before the publication of this fake notice, a number of Ghanaians in Cambodia had reached out to us requesting to be evacuated, and are already being assisted by the Foreign Ministry and our High Commission in Malaysia," Ablakwa said in a post on X.

The minister said 85 Ghanaians had been evacuated between March and May 2026 through Ghana's High Commission in Malaysia, which is concurrently accredited to Cambodia. Seventy-six additional Ghanaian nationals who have indicated a desire to return home are currently being assisted, he added.

"The welfare of Ghanaians anywhere in the world remains our priority," Ablakwa said, ending his message with Ghana's national motto: "For God and Country."

In a separate statement, Ghana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that some Ghanaians living in Cambodia had expressed a wish to return voluntarily even before the circulation of the fake notice.

The ministry said arrangements were ongoing to facilitate the return of the remaining 76 citizens and pledged continued cooperation with Cambodian authorities to safeguard Ghanaian nationals in the country.

The update followed the widespread circulation of a fabricated notice on social and traditional media platforms claiming that citizens of Ghana, Kenya, Cameroon, Uganda and other African countries had been ordered to leave Cambodia by May 31, 2026, or face arrest, imprisonment and financial penalties for immigration offences.

Cambodia's General Department of Immigration, under the Ministry of Interior, issued a clarification on Friday dismissing the document as fraudulent.