AKP Phnom Penh, September 23, 2026 --

Cambodia is firming the commitment to combat against online scams, declaring that the Kingdom will never become a safe haven for online scam operations.

“In this historical context, I wish to make our position clear that Cambodia will never be a safe haven for online scams,” stated this morning Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, at the opening ceremony of the two-day International Conference on Combating Online Scams under the theme “Acting Together Towards Breaking the Chain and Eradication of Online Scams.

“We gather today to exchange perspectives and to reaffirm a decisive and collective commitment against one of the most complex threats of our digital age,” he underlined.

Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet stressed that confronting transnational cybercrime requires strong leadership, effective governance and the courage to address systemic vulnerabilities and complex challenges directly.

The Prime Minister also noted that the online scam industry did not originate in Cambodia and is not confined to the Kingdom, explaining that Cambodia’s early exposure to the issue was linked to the growth of online gambling and casino-related businesses.

According to the Prime Minister, criminal networks have continued to evolve rapidly across borders, exploiting commercial properties, regulatory gaps and complex cross-border telecommunications networks to establish transnational scam ecosystems.

Under this concern, Cambodia has responded through decisive actions and a unified, whole-of-government and whole-of-society campaign aimed at uprooting these criminal networks.

“Our Royal government enforces the policy of zero tolerance, no exceptions, and no retreat,” he affirmed, stressing that law enforcement is treated as a standing national security obligation rather than a public relations campaign.

The Prime Minister said Cambodia’s efforts are focused not only on dismantling existing criminal networks but also on preventing their re-emergence and restoring international confidence in the country’s economy, investment climate, tourism and public safety.

“Today, I declare that scam compounds no longer exist within the sovereign territory of the Kingdom of Cambodia,” announced Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet.

At the same time, Samdech Thipadei Prime Minister warned that organised criminal syndicates may seek to adapt by fragmenting into smaller and decentralised operations targeting Cambodian citizens, therefore he called for more cooperation from all stakeholders and international communities to combat this crime.

In response, Samdech Thipadei call for stronger collective international action against online scams, which have increasingly developed into a transnational form of organised crime requiring cooperation beyond national borders.

According to the Ad-Hoc Commission for Combating Online Scams (CCOS), from July 2025 through Aug. 31, 2026, Cambodia has frozen more than US$300 million in bank accounts linked to online scam crimes, while 446 cases involving 3,927 suspects have been sent to court.

Authorities have also taken legal action against officials found to be involved in online scam activities. Four cases involving 15 suspects have been handled, including a deputy prosecutor, a deputy director-general of immigration, a deputy Phnom Penh municipal police commissioner, a former director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as police and military officials.

The report added that specialised law enforcement forces, acting under the Government’s directives, inspected 832 suspected locations and launched crackdown operations at 663 of them.

Among these, authorities cracked down on and took control of 86 major scam compounds, with competent authorities currently undertaking legal procedures for their confiscation in accordance with the law.

By Heng Panha