Mr. Hun Manet: Fraud center destroys Cambodia’s economy

“The network of fraud, what we call the black economy, is destroying our genuine economy. It has given Cambodia a bad reputation,” Mr. Manet responded to the news agency on February 25. AFP while on a trip to Belgium.

According to the Prime Minister of Cambodia, fraud centers are also harming the country’s tourism and investment industry. “Therefore, we must thoroughly handle this problem,” he said.

Cambodia has become a hot spot for organizations operating multi-billion dollar fraud networks, where criminals lure Internet users around the world into love traps or fake virtual currency investment traps.

Prime Minister Hun Manet admitted that crime had indirectly promoted some business activities and created jobs in the country, but denied that Cambodia had benefited from it.

“Yes, fraud centers can have some direct consequences for the real estate, investment, construction, or procurement industries that set them up,” he said. “But most of the profits do not go to the Cambodian government.”

Experts say there are currently dozens of fraud centers in Cambodia, with about 100,000 people participating in online fraud, many of whom are victims of trafficking and coercion. Initially, these groups mainly targeted Chinese speakers, but later, they expanded into many other languages ​​to extort money from victims around the world.

A 2024 report from the US Institute of Peace estimates that profits from online fraud in Cambodia amount to more than 12.5 billion USD per year, equivalent to 50% of the country’s GDP.

“Many people think that Cambodia’s GDP depends on fraud. It is not so. We rely on transparent economic sectors such as tourism, manufacturing and other sectors,” Prime Minister Hun Manet emphasized.

Last year, a large-scale crackdown campaign carried out by Beijing helped free thousands of people from fraud centers in Myanmar and Cambodia to return home. This raid helped arrest Chen Zhi, the alleged boss of the fraud network, once considered a famous businessman in Cambodia.

“We did not know he was the leader,” Prime Minister Hun Manet said. According to him, the background check did not show any suspicious signs about Chen, and noted that Chen’s Prince Group, the entity accused by the US government of being a cover for the fraud empire, is present in many countries, not just Cambodia.

US prosecutors said that since around 2015, Prince Group has operated in more than 30 countries under the guise of legitimate real estate, financial services and consumer services.

Before the charges were brought, to Cambodia, Chen was “just a businessman who contributed to the economy,” Mr. Manet said. The Prime Minister added that Cambodia did not know about Prince Group’s shady activities, affirming that the authorities took immediate action when they received information about the allegations of wrongdoing.