PHNOM PENH, Sept 25 — Cambodia is gathering evidence against suspected "masterminds" of massive cyber fraud operations, amid criticism that the government's crackdown has failed to reach those ultimately responsible.
Chhay Sinarith, who heads a government commission on combating fraud, told Reuters that legal action, “whether it involves the mastermind, the co-conspirator, owner, enabler or protector, it requires time and also it requires evidence".
“That is why it is of utmost importance for us to cooperate,” he said on the sidelines of a global anti-scam conference in Phnom Penh yesterday, adding that information given by international partners had enabled action against some suspects and that premature disclosure of investigations could cause suspects to flee.
Earlier this week, Cambodia hosted representatives from more than a dozen countries, including the United States (US) and China, at the conference to discuss tackling an industry that has tarnished the country’s reputation and damaged its economy.
Cambodia and other Southeast Asian nations emerged after the pandemic as hubs for industrial-sized scam centres where workers are trafficked, detained in grim conditions, and forced to defraud strangers online. The US said scam compounds in the region stole US$10 billion (RM40.75 billion) from Americans alone in 2024.
Last month, Chhay declared that Phnom Penh had eradicated large-scale scam compounds after beginning a year-long crackdown, though it has not provided a full list of the sites it raided. Analysts have been sceptical, saying the operation has left high-level figures and industry protectors unscathed.
"It is clear that many large compounds remain active despite other operators clearing out and dispersing into smaller, decentralised sites.
"The technology, payment rails, money-laundering networks, and facilitators underpinning the industry also continue to operate at scale," said blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs' senior analyst John Wojcik.
Meanwhile, Chhay said the authorities are expanding their investigation into the financial network of Prince Group, a Cambodia-based conglomerate which the US alleges was a front for multi-billion-dollar online fraud and money laundering operations.
Its Chinese-born founder Chen Zhi was arrested and deported to China from Cambodia earlier this year.
Reporters toured two facilities outside of Phnom Penh that Cambodian authorities said were scam centres belonging to Prince Group — vast complexes that officials said housed thousands of workers. One had a fake Singaporean police station allegedly used for impersonation fraud.
Lawyers for Prince Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
