Cambodia parliament approves law to combat cybercrime scam rings 

Cambodia’s National Assembly has approved its first law targeting scam centres accused of defrauding foreigners of billions of dollars amid rising pressure to curb these illicit operations.

Justice Minister Keut Rith on Friday said the law aimed to enhance the “cleaning operation” taking ⁠place across the country and ensure the centres do not return after the crackdown.

“This law is strict like the fishing net, strict to ensure we don’t have the ⁠online scams any more in Cambodia, strict in order to serve the interests of the Cambodian nation and people,” he told reporters, adding that the problem had impacted the economy, tourism and investment.

The passage of the legislation aimed to “send a message to cyberscammers that Cambodia is not a place to do scams”, he said. The legislation will now go to Cambodia’s king for a final signature.

The law lays out punishments of two to five ‌years in prison and fines of up to $125,000 for those convicted of online scams.

Sentences for those convicted of scams conducted by gangs or against many victims can be up to 10 years in prison and as much as $250,000 in fines. It also outlines penalties for those convicted of money laundering, gathering victims’ data or recruiting scammers.

Ringleaders of cyberscam centres that engage in human trafficking, detentions and torture will now face prison sentences of up to 20 years and a fine of up to $500,000 under the law.

Cambodia has not previously had legislation specifically targeting scams although suspects have been charged with offences like recruitment for exploitation, aggravated ⁠fraud and money laundering.

The passage of the law comes after widespread condemnation from rights groups and ⁠sanctions and indictments by governments around the world as Cambodia is among the countries accused of being hotbeds of cyberscams.

On Thursday, Britain sanctioned the operators of what it described as the largest fraud complex in Cambodia and an online cryptocurrency ⁠marketplace used to trade stolen personal data. The complex is part of what the British government called a fast-growing network of scam centres in Southeast Asia where workers ⁠are confined in guarded compounds and forced to commit online ⁠fraud.

The US Department of State said last year that “official complicity, including at senior levels, inhibited effective law enforcement action against trafficking crimes” in Cambodia, which has denied suggestions its government is complicit.

A joint statement by United Nations experts in May said “hundreds of thousands of people of various nationalities are trapped and forced to carry out online fraud”.

Several countries have enacted anti-cyberscam laws to combat the rise of online fraud, romance and cryptocurrency scams with con artists in Singapore facing 24 strokes of the cane in serious cases.