PHNOM PENH, March 10 – Cambodia has intensified a nationwide crackdown on online scam operations, deporting thousands of foreign nationals and shutting sites authorities say were linked to transnational fraud networks, as Prime Minister Hun Manet framed the campaign as a long-term effort to protect the country’s reputation and legitimate economy.
Cambodian authorities say they have taken action against more than 200 online scam cases across roughly 2,500 locations over the past eight months, while pursuing legal proceedings against more than 500 alleged ringleaders and gang members. State media, citing the Secretariat of the Commission for Combating Online Scams, reported that more than 8,000 foreigners had been deported during that period, although publicly reported figures have varied depending on the reporting window and classification.
The latest push comes as Phnom Penh seeks to demonstrate that it is moving beyond episodic raids toward a broader campaign against criminal activity that has drawn scrutiny from foreign governments, rights groups and anti-trafficking monitors. Officials say the operations target networks involved in cross-border online fraud and related illicit activities.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the annual meeting of the National Authority for Combating Drugs, Hun Manet said authorities would not allow what he described as the “black economy” and “grey economy” to undermine the “white economy” of legitimate sectors such as agriculture, tourism, industry and services. He said enforcement would continue beyond the government’s stated aim of cleaning up the situation by April.
The prime minister’s framing reflects an effort to cast the issue not only as a law-enforcement challenge but as a broader economic governance concern. Officials argue that scam operations rely on layers of supporting activity including rented property, service providers and informal intermediaries that can distort legitimate sectors if left unchecked.
State news agency Agence Kampuchea Presse illustrated the human dimension of the campaign through interviews with two foreign men who said they had been lured to Cambodia by promises of high-paying jobs but later found themselves underpaid and tightly controlled. One Indonesian man said he had expected to earn between $800 and $1,000 a month but received less than $200 after deductions for travel, food and accommodation. A Pakistani man said he had been stranded after his employer fled. The accounts were reported by AKP and could not be independently verified.
Authorities say enforcement actions have included the closure of locations suspected of hosting scam operations, including sites known as Mango Park 1 on National Road 3 and Mango Park 2 in Takeo province. Residents in the coastal city of Preah Sihanouk said several casino and hotel complexes once associated with heavy flows of workers now appeared largely inactive.
AKP reported that the area around the Jingbei Hotel and Casino Resort appeared quiet during several hours of observation, although the report did not cite court findings or official documentation linking specific sites to criminal convictions.
The durability of the campaign remains uncertain. Previous crackdowns in Cambodia and elsewhere in mainland Southeast Asia have often disrupted operations without eliminating them entirely, with networks shifting across borders or moving into smaller and less visible locations.
That leaves Phnom Penh facing a familiar test: whether enforcement actions can translate into sustained prosecutions, tighter financial oversight and stronger scrutiny of the property and service networks that enable scam compounds to operate. For now, the current phase represents an escalation in enforcement and signalling rather than conclusive evidence that the underlying networks have been dismantled.
