The French embassy in Cambodia has said that it has been in contact with the father of a Hong Kong-based influencer who posted on social media that he had been kidnapped and his family and lawyers could not contact him.

The embassy’s comments on Friday came a day after influencer Stephanie Cheng sought public attention for her father’s case and wrote multiple Instagram posts, saying he had been kidnapped ahead of a meeting with officials to expose a high-level fraud case.

She said her father, Chi Gian Cheng, a French citizen, was taken at Phnom Penh International Airport on Wednesday before his scheduled meeting with a Cambodian minister the following morning.

She said he planned to discuss a financial dispute he had with a senior official in the Ministry of the Interior, who was accused of defrauding him.

“The timing and nature of the arrest make it clear that this is not a coincidence. It is a deliberate political manoeuvre to protect the accused official and silence the victim,” Cheng said.

The French embassy in the capital Phnom Penh issued a statement on Instagram, saying that it was “closely monitoring Mr Chi Gian Cheng’s situation”.