Cambodia Vows to Eradicate Online Scams, Declares 'No Safe Haven'

Prime Minister Hun Manet of Cambodia has reaffirmed the Kingdom's firm commitment to combat online scams, declaring that the nation will never become a safe haven for such criminal operations. Speaking at the opening of a two-day international conference on combating online scams, themed “Acting Together Towards Breaking the Chain and Eradication of Online Scams,” the Prime Minister stated, “In this historical context, I wish to make our position clear that Cambodia will never be a safe haven for online scams.” He emphasized that confronting transnational cybercrime requires strong leadership, effective governance, and the courage to address systemic vulnerabilities and complex challenges directly. The Prime Minister noted that the online scam industry did not originate in Cambodia and is not confined to the Kingdom, explaining that Cambodia’s early exposure to the issue was linked to the growth of online gambling and casino-related businesses. Criminal networks have continued to evolve rapidly across borders, exploiting commercial properties, regulatory gaps, and complex cross-border telecommunications networks to establish transnational scam ecosystems. In response, Cambodia has implemented a “zero tolerance, no exceptions, and no retreat” policy, with a whole-of-government and whole-of-society campaign aimed at uprooting these criminal networks. “Today, I declare that scam compounds no longer exist within the sovereign territory of the Kingdom of Cambodia,” announced Prime Minister Hun Manet. However, he cautioned that organized criminal syndicates may adapt by fragmenting into smaller, decentralized operations targeting Cambodian citizens, urging for greater cooperation from all stakeholders and the international community. According to the Ad-Hoc Commission for Combating Online Scams (CCOS), from July 2025 through August 31, 2026, Cambodia has frozen over US$300 million in bank accounts linked to online scam crimes, while 446 cases involving 3,927 suspects have been sent to court. Authorities have also taken legal action against officials involved in online scam activities, handling four cases involving 15 suspects, including a deputy prosecutor, deputy director-general of immigration, deputy Phnom Penh municipal police commissioner, former director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as police and military officials. Specialized law enforcement forces inspected 832 suspected locations and launched crackdown operations at 663 of them, seizing 86 major scam compounds, with legal procedures for confiscation underway. Source: AKP Cambodia