(Phnom Penh): Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet reiterated that Cambodia will never be a safe haven for online scams, vowing not to allow transnational criminal syndicates to undermine the kingdom’s development and the livelihoods of more than 17 million Cambodians.
Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet made the remarks in his keynote address at the opening of the International Conference on Combating Online Scams (ICCOS) in Phnom Penh.
“In this historical context, I wish to make our position clear: Cambodia will never be a safe haven for online scams. This transnational crime is a recent post COVID19 phenomenon, one that is entirely foreign to our national culture, values, and identity. Cambodia will not allow criminal syndicates to undermine our country’s progress and the livelihood of over 17 million Cambodian people,” the premier underlined.
The premier said the online scam industry neither originated in Cambodia nor is confined to the Kingdom, adding that Cambodia’s early exposure to the problem was linked to the growth of online gambling and casino-related businesses.
He added that criminal networks continued to evolve and adapt quickly across borders, exploiting commercial properties, regulatory gaps, and complex cross-border telecommunications networks to establish transnational scam ecosystems.
Samdech Thipadei said Cambodia takes full ownership of securing its borders, enforcing its laws, and restoring the integrity of its national jurisdiction.
“Accountability must be proven through uncompromising internal action,” he said, noting that Cambodia elevated its command structure in February 2025 to a national-level Commission on Combating Online Scams (CCOS) under his direct leadership.
He also said Cambodia enacted the Law on Combating Online Scams in April 2026 to close legal loopholes and enable a unified, whole-of-government and whole-of-society campaign to uproot criminal networks entirely.
“We treat law enforcement as a standing national security obligation, not a public relations campaign.”
He added that Cambodia is focused not only on dismantling criminal networks but also on preventing their re-emergence, saying authorities have completely dismantled all large-scale scam compounds identified in the kingdom.
At the same time, Samdech Thipadei underscored that international cooperation remains essential, calling for stronger real-time intelligence sharing, advanced financial investigations, greater compatibility of legal and operational frameworks, public-private partnerships and enhanced victim protection.
“No single country can effectively tackle this cross-border challenge alone,” he said, urging countries to cooperate with sincerity, mutual respect and shared responsibility.
On the occasion, Samdech Thipadei called for concrete and collective action and expressed hope that international partners will adopt the Phnom Penh Declaration on the 24th of September 2026—a testament to collective resolve to break the chain and eradicate online scams.
=FRESH NEWS
