Cambodia’s former prime minister and current Senate President, Hun Sen, has issued an unyielding public mandate demanding an aggressive expansion of enforcement operations targeting corrupt civil servants linked to illegal online gambling syndicates and regional scam networks.
The high-ranking political leader insisted that national police forces must look past standard arrests of low-level fraudsters to prosecute, strip the rank of, and seize the financial assets of any public official found to be enabling black-market rings.
Eliminating Civil Service Collaboration
In a formal statement distributed on Sunday, Hun Sen warned that all state initiatives to permanently dismantle internet fraud syndicates would remain entirely futile until the government systematically uprooted administrative bribery and official collaboration with scammers. He demanded immediate structural sanctions against corrupt actors, including the immediate termination of any civil servant who refuses to actively execute enforcement orders.
Hun Sen issued an explicit warning to local security structures:
“All the attempts to shut down online fraud rings would be futile until measures to fight corruption and government officials’ collaboration with scammers were implemented too. Provincial governors, military police chiefs, and police station heads, whose failure to comply with instructions of their superiors would result in removal from their posts. Taking actions against only the scammers while ignoring corrupt government officials would bring no results.”
The high-level political intervention arrives amid an escalating nationwide crackdown against illegal offshore compounds. According to official state data reported by Xinhua, Cambodian national police squads executed raids on over 250 illicit online scam centers between July 2025 and mid-April 2026.
These targeted sweeps included the closure of 91 land-based casinos that were allegedly acting as front venues for human trafficking and fraudulent financial networks. Throughout the observed period, immigration authorities successfully deported 13,039 foreign nationals tied to illicit internet activity.
Enforcing the New Anti-Fraud Statute
The enforcement push is backed by a strict anti-fraud bill enacted last month by Cambodia’s legislature. Under the updated law, individuals convicted of operating or leading organized scam syndicates face severe penalties, including prison terms of up to 30 years and life imprisonment.
The immediate impact of the coordinated sweeps was demonstrated in Poipet, Banteay Meanchey Province, where state forces completely shut down a major resort following verified allegations linking the property to cyber fraud operations. Following an onsite inspection on May 7 by the General Secretariat of the Commercial Gambling Management Commission of Cambodia, the National Police, and the provincial administration, authorities shut down the KMH Paradise Tower Casino and Hotel in O’Chrov district.
Investigators discovered active evidence of online fraud, physical torture, and the illegal possession of military-grade weapons, resulting in the arrest of 7 key suspects, the seizure of extensive server hardware, and the immediate revocation of the venue’s casino operating license.
