UK, Cambodia Step Up Joint Action Against Online Scams with Visit to Golden Fortune Compound

PHNOM PENH, Sept 24, 2026 (KPT) — British Minister of State for the Home Office Lord Hanson has visited the shut‑down Golden Fortune compound in Kandal province, underscoring growing cooperation between the United Kingdom and Cambodia to disrupt online scam networks and protect victims, the British Embassy said Thursday. Golden Fortune was described by the UK side as a former scam hub believed to have trapped and exploited thousands of people. Hanson said the site illustrated the human impact of scam operations, which damage victims, families and communities while generating profits for criminal syndicates. The visit came as the UK and Cambodia intensify joint action to target organisers and facilitators behind scam centres, disrupt illicit financial flows and strengthen victim protection. “Behind every compound are people whose lives have been affected, families and communities that have carried the consequences, and criminal networks that must be held to account,” the Embassy said. Officials said the closure of Golden Fortune demonstrated what could be achieved when countries worked together, following UK sanctions and Cambodian enforcement. The two governments recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to boost cooperation against online scams, providing for closer intelligence sharing, financial and digital investigations, capacity building, asset recovery and stronger protection for trafficking victims. The agreement also establishes a bilateral task force, adding to Cambodia’s existing mechanisms with regional partners. Hanson pledged continued cooperation, saying: “This is what partnership looks like: turning dialogue into action, action into results, and results into safer communities.” Cambodia has intensified its crackdown since enacting its Law on Combating Online Scams in April, expelling or seeing the voluntary departure of more than 50,000 foreigners and referring about 2,200 cases to court. Hanson said the UK would keep working with Cambodia and international partners to maintain pressure on scam networks.