PHNOM PENH, March 13 – Cambodia’s Cabinet on Friday approved a draft law aimed at strengthening the fight against online scams, the government said, as Prime Minister Hun Manet pledged a sustained crackdown on technology-based fraud.
The draft legislation, approved at a plenary meeting of the Council of Ministers chaired by Hun Manet, would create new criminal offences targeting online fraud and scam centres, according to a government press release issued after the meeting.
The government said the draft law contains five chapters and 24 articles and is intended to strengthen criminal measures against technology-based fraud, protect public order and improve cooperation in tackling such crimes.
Among its main provisions are five new offences: online fraud; organising or operating online scam centres; recruiting or training others to participate in online fraud; malicious collection of personal identification documents or personal data; and specific forms of money-laundering offences, the statement said.
The draft law also sets out special criminal procedures, including provisions on detention periods, the suspension and freezing of assets, confiscation of property, possible exemptions or mitigation of criminal liability in some cases, and stronger international cooperation, according to the release.
The Cambodian government said the law was needed to demonstrate the country’s political commitment to combating cybercrime in line with the 2024 United Nations Convention against Cybercrime, while also supporting efforts against money laundering and addressing legal challenges linked to online fraud.
Hun Manet said online scams were a complex regional and global problem and that Cambodia had also been affected, including through damage to its international reputation.
He said the government’s campaign against online scams was not symbolic or short-term, but part of an effort to “clean its own house” because the issue affects Cambodia’s reputation and socio-economic development, according to the government statement.
The prime minister said the government was determined to pursue action against online scams “without exception or retreat”.
The government statement did not say when the draft law would be submitted for parliamentary approval.
