AKP Phnom Penh, December 19, 2025 --

Cambodia has intensified its crackdown on transnational online scam networks, processing 35 major cases involving 168 suspected ringleaders and accomplices as it seeks to shed its reputation as a hub for cyber-fraud, authorities said on Thursday.

A report by the Secretariat of the Commission for Combating Online Scams (CCOS) detailed a sweeping six-month enforcement window ending Dec. 18. 

During this period, task forces raided 118 locations across 18 municipality and provinces, detaining 4,983 suspects from 23 different nationalities. Cambodian authorities confirmed that the 4,039 foreign nationals, including 605 women, were deported following the raids, which targeted operations spanning the municipality and various provinces.

The suspects currently facing prosecution include nationals from China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Malaysia. The report emphasised that the criminal networks often exploit Cambodia as a transit point or base for activities orchestrated across borders.

Among those detained during the broader raids were individuals from as far afield as Nigeria, Russia, and Sierra Leone, underscoring the increasingly globalised nature of these syndicates.

"Online fraud is a global problem requiring coordinated international mechanisms to combat," the Secretariat stated, noting that investigations are now pivoting toward the financial flows and cross-border movements of these syndicates.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has commended Cambodia's "clear political will" to tackle the crisis. For years, the region has faced international pressure to dismantle scam centres where victims of human trafficking are often forced to work under duress to defraud people worldwide.

As part of the recent operations: 118 locations were inspected and raided; thousands of devices, including mobile phones and computers, were seized for forensic analysis; victims of trafficking were rescued and processed for repatriation.

The commission, established and chaired by Prime Minister Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet, has signaled that it will remain open to joint investigations and information sharing with international partners to identify "kingpins" operating behind the scenes.

By K. Rithy Reak