AFP — Cambodia announced on Friday (28) that it has shut down more than 700 online fraud centers over the past year and arrested nearly 30,000 suspects, including a number of senior government officials.
The Southeast Asian country has become a hub for criminal organizations running romance scams and cryptocurrency investment fraud, with scammers — some of whom joined willingly and others who were trafficked — deceiving internet users around the world.
But under pressure from multiple countries, including the United States and China, Cambodian authorities say they are cracking down on the industry.
A government statement said that more than 700 scam centers had been raided and 58,266 foreigners deported over the past year. It also stated that nearly 30,000 suspects had been arrested, including 15 senior 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 — are being held in custody awaiting trial.
"Although large scam centers have been dismantled, criminal groups have shifted their strategy to operating on a smaller scale, hiding in guesthouses, condominiums, rental homes, vehicles, and coffee shops," the Cambodian government stated.
In January, Cambodia extradited Chen Zhi, chairman of Prince Holding Group, one of Cambodia's largest conglomerates, who had been accused of heading a scam syndicate, to China, after he was sanctioned by the United States and the United Kingdom.
And in April, Cambodia also extradited Li Song, former chairman of Huione Group, to China, where Beijing accused him of playing a key role in a large-scale transnational gambling and fraud network.
