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Acting Head of State and Senate President Hun Sen expressed shock at the presence of tens of thousands of online scammers operating in the country, calling for stronger crackdown on online scam networks and officials found to be involved in the illegal activities.
Speaking at a meeting with ministries, national and subnational units under the Phnom Penh administration on May 24, the former prime minister said Cambodia is a “victim of online scam”.
Hun Sen said countries attempted to blame Cambodia for the spread of online scam networks, although many of the suspects had entered the country through neighboring countries.
He said he will propose to Prime Minister Hun Manet and the Interior Ministry to increase cooperation with immigration authorities to investigate suspects who were found without passports to determine which border crossing they used to enter Cambodia.
“Cambodia will do it again to reveal the truth that Cambodia cleans online scams,” he said. “I am very surprised as a former government administrator, and head of the ruling party [to learn] that there are tens of thousands of online scammers in Cambodia.”
Back in 2022, the United Nations estimated that at least 100,000 people in Cambodia had been forced into online scam operations, although Cambodian officials questioned the figure and called for more evidence. Hun Sen was prime minister at the time.
According to a report by Amnesty International last year, scores of victims allegedly trafficked to Cambodia had their passports confiscated by managers operating scam compounds.
Seng Vanly, Asia-Pacific geopolitical analyst, told CamboJA News it was difficult to believe that a “top leader” who is most likely to “receive daily intelligence and security briefings”, would not been unaware of the scale of online scam operations that had drawn international criticism for years.
He alleged that this could be a “political strategy” to “distance senior leadership from responsibility, shift blame to corrupt lower-level officials, and build support for a broader crackdown to help restore Cambodia’s international image”.
During the crackdown on online scam operations, several grassroots officials were arrested, investigated and removed from their positions over alleged involvement in the crimes.
Under a sub-decree issued on May 22, senior police and military police officers in Mondulkiri Province were dismissed over their alleged links to online scam activities. Concurrently, Thong Savon, Governor of Mondulkiri Province, moved to become the secretary of state of the Ministry of Interior, with no reason stated.
On the same day, Phnom Penh Municipal Court issued an arrest warrant for Banteay Meanchey provincial military police deputy chief of staff Nuon Ninaro for alleged conspiracy in aggravated online fraud and money laundering.
Touch Sokhak, spokesperson of the Interior Ministry, did not respond to CamboJA News regarding the next procedure for the two senior officers in Mondulkiri or if there are other investigations on the provincial governor.
Hun Sen welcomed the removal of the officials, saying the crackdown on online scams must go hand in hand with action against officials who fail to carry out their duty.
“You cannot succeed if you only take action on scammers and not against officials involved and those who do not want to act on it,” he added.
He pointed out two types of action against officials linked to online scam operations: those directly involved should face court charges and their assets frozen in addition to being removed from their positions, while officials who fail to act against the crimes should be transferred to another place.
Hun Sen called for increased action from provincial authorities as the “big scam groups have broken up and spread to different provinces”, such as Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri.
Following his speech, police in Ratanakiri province inspected hotels, casinos and offices on May 25 to detect online scam activity.
The National Police said police conducted operations at 50 locations in the third week of May, detaining about 3,320 suspects of 32 nationalities. Some of them were deported, while others underwent legal proceedings and released after they were found not to be involved. Authorities said the pressure has forced some scam groups to relocate to other parts of Cambodia or other countries in the region.
Although Hun Sen specifically highlighted Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri, long-standing scam hubs such as Sihanoukville, Poipet and Svay Rieng Province have been widely reported as being major centers of online scam compounds.
Vanly suggested that the focus of enforcement in Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri, while other major centers faced “less scrutiny”, could indicate a “gradual or test-case” approach to tackling the issue before investigations expand out.
He opined that despite intense crackdowns on online scam operations, the crime is “unlikely to be eradicated as long as corruption persists within the judicial system and law enforcement”, and its root cause unaddressed.
Similarly, Ny Sokha, president of human rights group Adhoc, said that restoring Cambodia’s image should not focus only on investigations on low-ranking officials, but include officials named in U.S. listings.
“We are not accusing officials blacklisted by the U.S. of committing crimes, but Cambodia should conduct clear investigations through an independent body to determine whether they are involved or not,” he said. “If they are not found guilty, there should be proper clarification and transparency.
Pen Bona, government spokesperson, told CamboJA News that Cambodia acts based on its own authorities and legal framework, and does not follow directions from other countries.
