Cambodia shuts down over 700 cyberscam compounds: Government
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
A Cambodian government statement on Aug 28 said the authorities have cleared more than 700 online scam compounds and deported 58,266 foreign nationals over the past year.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
- Cambodia has shut down over 700 online scam centres and arrested nearly 30,000 suspects, including 15 senior officials, in a year-long crackdown on cyberscams.
- Authorities deported over 58,000 foreign nationals and are holding more than 3,400 suspects from 29 countries who are awaiting trial.
- Despite clearing large sites, criminal groups now use decentralised tactics in small locations; Cambodia extradited key alleged scam bosses to China recently.
AI generated
Phnom Penh – Cambodia said on Aug 28 that it had closed more than 700 online scam centres in a crackdown over the past year, detaining nearly 30,000 suspects, including a clutch of senior government officials.
The South-east Asian country has emerged as a hub for crime syndicates running fake romantic relationship and cryptocurrency investment schemes in which scammers – some willing, others trafficked – defraud internet users around the world.
But under pressure from several countries, including the United States and China, the Cambodian authorities say they are cracking down on the industry.
A government statement on Aug 28 said the authorities have cleared more than 700 compounds and deported 58,266 foreign nationals over the past year.
It said nearly 30,000 suspects had been arrested, including 15 high-ranking officials and law enforcement officers.
More than 3,400 suspects from 29 nationalities, including citizens from China, Vietnam, Australia, France, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand, were in custody awaiting trial.
“Although large-scale sites have been completely cleared, criminal groups have altered their tactics to decentralised, small-scale activities, hiding in guesthouses, condominiums, rental houses, vehicles and coffee shops,” the government said.
In January, Cambodia extradited alleged scam boss Chen Zhi, the Chinese-born chairman of multibillion-dollar Cambodian conglomerate Prince Holding Group, to China after he was sanctioned by the US and British governments.
In April, Cambodia also extradited to China Li Xiong, the Chinese-born former chairman of Huione Group, whom Beijing accuses of playing a key role in a major transnational gambling and fraud syndicate. AFP
