Cambodian authorities have continued operations targeting technology-enabled fraud, commonly known as online scams, identifying and shutting down 605 criminal sites and referring 4,147 suspects to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court.
According to figures from the Secretariat of the Commission for Combating Technology-enabled Scams (CCTC), authorities inspected 751 locations between July 2025 and July 2026 and closed 605 of them.
Officials also reviewed 195 licenses, finding that 20 had been revoked, 29 suspended for links to scam operations, and 23 had expired.
According to The Star in a report published on Tuesday, August 18, authorities released the statistics as Cambodia prepares to receive foreign delegations for the International Conference on Combating Online Scams 2026 (ICCOS 2026), scheduled for September 23–24.
Representatives and law-enforcement officials from Australia, the United States, the ASEAN Secretariat, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Interpol, and other international organizations are expected to attend.
The government of the Kingdom of Thailand hosted a similar international conference in July 2026 under the name SHIELD (Scam and Human Trafficking Information Exchange and Linked Database). Representatives from Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos were absent from that meeting.
Meanwhile, the Bangkok Post reported on August 13, 2026, that Thai authorities responsible for investigating money-laundering crimes had identified and planned to seize assets worth approximately 460 million baht, or about US$14 million, allegedly belonging to Chen Zhi, described as the head of scam compounds operating in Cambodia.
Thai authorities identified 431 assets, including cash, gold jewelry, land, buildings, and digital assets. At the same time, authorities in Beijing reportedly brought an additional charge against the tycoon related to the intentional infliction of injury. Chen Zhi is reported to hold assets in about 30 countries worldwide.
On Tuesday, August 18, the Washington-based publication The Diplomat published an article on online scams titled “Cambodia: From Scam Empire to Security State.” The article argued that Cambodia’s conflict with Thailand had pushed the country to enact and enforce nationwide measures against technology-enabled scam operations.
It further argued that Cambodia’s ruling elite is now using the same resources and enforcement mechanisms to consolidate its political power.
