Closing an online scam compound stops the immediate abuse, but it does not dismantle the criminal enterprise behind it. The organizers may sit in another country, and the proceeds can flow through bank accounts and digital wallets across multiple jurisdictions. For Cambodia, the next phase of the fight is not just shutting doors—it is following the money.
Over the past year, Cambodian authorities have investigated 832 suspected locations and raided 663 of them. Eighty-six scam compounds have been dismantled and placed under legal seizure. The crackdown has also reached the courts: 446 cases involving 3,927 accused individuals from 29 nationalities have been forwarded for prosecution, including alleged ringleaders and accomplices. Regulators have revoked 18 casino licenses and suspended nine others for links to online fraud.
The campaign has extended beyond low-level operators. Cambodia’s Anti-Corruption Unit has opened four cases against 15 senior officials and law-enforcement officers suspected of complicity. Recent arrests of prominent businesspeople and officials underscore that no one is above the law.
From physical sites to financial networks
Yet the gains remain fragile. Criminal networks are already adapting, shifting from large compounds to smaller, decentralized operations. That makes it even more urgent to pursue the financiers and money movers rather than focusing solely on physical locations.
In April, Cambodia enacted the Law on Combating Online Scams, giving authorities stronger tools to prosecute organizers and to trace and seize criminal proceeds. Financial institutions and other regulated entities must now report suspicious transactions to the Cambodia Financial Intelligence Unit, which shares intelligence with investigators. So far, authorities have frozen more than $300 million in bank accounts linked to scam operations, with additional assets under review.
But once money crosses a border, no single police force can follow it alone. A victim in London or Los Angeles may be defrauded by operators thousands of miles away, with funds passing through several countries before reaching the ultimate beneficiaries. International cooperation becomes essential.
The United Kingdom, which assumed the presidency of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in July, has made fraud a priority, focusing on the financial flows tied to scam compounds. Cambodia supports that approach and continues to work with the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering. In July, FBI Director Kash Patel visited Phnom Penh to discuss scams targeting Americans and to strengthen bilateral law-enforcement ties.
Cooperation against transnational crime should transcend geopolitical divides. The same networks victimize people in the United States, China, and many other countries. Cambodia will host the International Conference on Combating Online Scams (ICCOS 2026) in Phnom Penh on September 23–24, with participants from China, the UK, the US, the FBI, and governments across Asia, as well as Interpol.
The conference theme is “Acting Together towards Breaking the Chain and Eradication of Online Scams.” The challenge is to turn diplomatic goodwill into operational cooperation—financial intelligence must move quickly across borders to freeze assets before they disappear. Countries also need better mechanisms for recovering criminal proceeds.
There is also a human dimension. Many people found inside scam compounds have themselves been trafficked or coerced, while victims worldwide have lost their life savings. Protecting the exploited also requires cross-border collaboration. Following the money helps pursue those who profit from both trafficking and fraud.
Cambodia is doing its part, but lasting success demands collective action. As the region’s digital economy expands—and as Southeast Asia competes for data center dominance—the financial infrastructure that enables scams will only grow more complex. The window to act is now.
In Phnom Penh this September, Cambodia will work with international partners to dismantle the financial networks behind online scams and cut off the profits that sustain this global criminal industry.
