Prime Minister Hun Manet said Cambodia has shut down 18,000 websites tied to online gambling, scams, fraud, and other cybercrimes since 2021, citing a Ministry of Post and Telecommunications report at an annual conference.
The figures come as international reports highlight Cambodia’s ongoing struggle to fully block access to cryptocurrency platforms that allegedly facilitate money laundering for its notorious scamming industry. It also follows revelations from London-based cryptocurrency compliance firm Elliptic that Huione Group, a Cambodian conglomerate linked to the highest echelons of the government, operates the largest illicit online marketplace ever identified.
Admittedly, Hun Manet said at least 13,000 websites promoting online crimes were accessible on Cambodian networks in the last half of 2024, prompting the government to form a task force with the Interior Ministry, National Police, and Ministry of Post and Telecommunications to crack down on illicit sites.
“This task is not over yet, we have to recognize it [online crimes] and we are still moving forward,” he said. “We have been doing a lot of this work, and we are not silent, of course there has been documented [scam centers] in many countries, including our fellow ASEAN countries who also face challenges.”
Much of Cambodia’s illicit online activity is driven by industrial-scale scam centers across the country, fueled by nearly 100,000 trafficked workers from around the world, according to the UN Human Rights Office. These centers generate upwards of $12.5 billion in illicit profits annually, more than half of the country’s GDP, according to the United States Institute of Peace.
Recently, Cambodia faced growing pressure from victimized countries such as China to tackle the industry, which is also rampant in Laos and war-torn Myanmar.
After a multilateral meeting last month with senior Chinese and Mekong officials to strengthen efforts against online scamming amid rising reports of human trafficking and criminal activity in the region, the Cambodian government swiftly announced the creation of an Inter-Ministerial Task Force Committee – a move aimed at bolstering its fight against online scams amid ongoing reports of inaction or negligence.
But less than a week later, two local journalists were detained and charged with incitement for publishing a video showing an alleged forced scammer being beaten in a Cambodian scam compound. Phnom Penh police claimed the video spread false information.
Both journalists have since apologized, according to local broadcast network S.A. TVHD Online, which posted copies of their apology letters to Prime Minister Hun Manet on its Facebook page.
NGO rights groups are also urging the government to ramp up efforts to tackle the full scope of the online scam industry and the corruption behind it.
Am Sam Ath, operations director at the local rights group Licadho, said international criticism has not pressured Cambodia enough to adequately address the human trafficking and scam centers in the country, which threaten both national and regional security and scare off tourists and foreign investors. However, he welcomed the recent establishment of inter-ministerial units and measures.
At the conference on Feb. 6, Prime Minister Hun Manet closed his remarks by thanking relevant officials and institutions for their ongoing efforts to prevent “online gambling and scamming,” which he said have “damaged social security and Cambodia’s reputation.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications could not be reached for comment on Cambodia’s struggle to shut down illicit online sites or whether investigations or repercussions have been directed at Huione Group or any of its fintech entities.
