The United States has imposed sanctions on nearly 20 Chinese nationals and companies across Southeast Asia, including 10 individuals operating in Cambodia, for what it described as large-scale criminal fraud schemes.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced on September 8 that nine people in Myanmar and 10 in Cambodia were sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act. The measures freeze assets in the US, ban travel to American territory, and block access to the US financial system.
Washington said the groups were linked to a scam network that defrauded Americans of some 10 billion dollars in 2024. Authorities identified She Zhijiang, who holds dual nationality in Myanmar and Cambodia, as the ringleader and majority shareholder of the organization. His network has reportedly operated for years under multiple aliases.
The schemes allegedly relied on a mix of fake debt collection, violence, extortion, phone threats, and fraudulent job offers. Victims were often lured to Southeast Asia with promises of employment and then forced into online fraud operations.
Those named in Cambodia include Dong Lecheng, Xu Aimin, Chen Al Len, and Su Liangsheng, along with six companies said to be part of their network. Many of the entities are linked to hotels, casinos, and office blocks in Preah Sihanouk and Bavet that authorities say were used to run the scams.
Among them are T C Capital Co. Ltd, which operates the Golden Sun Sky Casino and hotel complex in Preah Sihanouk, and K B Hotel Co. Ltd, run by Xu Aimin. Xu is also linked to a real estate company, K B X Investment, and is listed as a shareholder in HH Bank Cambodia. Chen Al Len is a board member of K B Hotel and heads Heng He Bavet Property, which manages casinos and other properties in Bavet. Su Liangsheng is chairman of M D S Heng He Investment, which allegedly ran a major scam project in Pursat province, overseen in part by Cambodian tycoon Try Pheap.
The Treasury said the scams have not only drained billions from Americans but also trapped thousands of people in conditions resembling modern slavery.
US Senator Marco Rubio posted on social media that scam centres in Southeast Asia stole more than 10 billion dollars from Americans last year. A May 2025 report by Humanity Research Consultancy, authored by Jacob Sims, suggested links between these networks and powerful Cambodian business and political figures. The report estimated illicit revenues from online scams could reach 12 to 19 billion dollars annually, or around 60 percent of Cambodia’s GDP, surpassing earnings from garment exports.
The Cambodia Daily has not yet been able to reach Pen Bona, head of the government’s spokesperson unit, for comment by the time of publication.
