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Cambodian crackdown on online scams

Updated 13 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-30 07:02 UTC → 2026-10-16 03:18 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The Cambodian government has implemented extensive measures to combat online fraud and cybercrime, following international pressure. A major year-long operation conducted by the Ad-Hoc Commission for Combating Online Scams (CCOS) resulted in the detention of nearly 30,000 suspects of 39 nationalities and the rescue of over 58,000 foreign nationals. Recent data from the first half of 2026 indicates that authorities arrested 20,926 suspects from 38 nationalities and deported 46,474 foreign nationals, 16,874 of whom were directly linked to cyber fraud. One significant target was the 8 Park complex in Prey Veng province, a 120-hectare site functioning as a self-contained town with a casino. Raided in February 2026 following intelligence from the FBI and the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, the complex was once home to approximately 20,000 people. As the crackdown intensifies, the Cambodian Anti-Scam Commission reports having inspected 832 sites, identifying over 600 as being involved in scam activities. Officials warn that criminal networks are shifting from large complexes toward smaller, more mobile operations. In September 2026, Prime Minister Hun Manet hosted the International Conference on Combating Online Scams (ICCOS) in Phnom Penh, asserting that Cambodia will never be a ‘safe haven’ for cyberscams. On September 23, 2026, Cambodia and the United Kingdom signed a Memorandum of Understanding to dismantle illegal online scam centres and combat human trafficking. By late September 2026, efforts expanded to address AI-generated scams and misinformation through workshops aimed at protecting vulnerable populations. While Chhay Sinarith, head of a government commission on combating fraud, noted that targeting the masterminds and enablers of these operations is a time-consuming process requiring international cooperation, analysts from TRM Labs suggest that many operations may have simply decentralized into smaller sites while maintaining existing money-laundering networks.

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