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Cambodia is in the process of preparing a new law, dubbed the Anti-Telecom Fraud Law, which will see those involved in various forms of online and telecom-related scams face increased consequences for their actions. This, as revealed by a senior minister and anti-cyberscam commission secretary-general, Chhay Sinarith, will mean that those involved in these activities will face a maximum of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000 if caught and prosecuted under the law. The law, which is yet to be approved by the Cambodian cabinet on March 13, will be a first in a bid to combat telecom and online fraud in the country, with authorities seeking to move away from relying on cybercrime laws in combating these emerging threats.
According to sources, the law will seek to ensure that those involved in these activities, both as individuals and as a group, are held accountable for their actions, with those who offer their premises for these operations, as well as those who offer their premises for those involved in recruiting workers for these operations, being included in the law as those who will be held liable under it. The law clearly states that these individuals cannot claim they had no knowledge of what was going on in their premises, thus offering a way out for those who have had their premises discovered as being involved in these operations.
Liability for Property Owners and Local Officials
One of the key features of the proposed law is that it goes beyond targeting the front-line operators of scam centers. The draft law will tighten the hold on landlords, who will be liable if they lease space for fraud networks or individuals who recruit workers for scam operations. It is quite obvious that landlords cannot use the excuse that they knew nothing about what was going on in their own properties, which is a common phenomenon when these properties are discovered.
It will also extend liability to public officials who protect and support scam groups. Chhay Sinarith acknowledged that investigations have already uncovered instances where certain officials provided cover for fraud networks. He explained that criminal groups often focus first on securing a protector before arranging locations, staff, and financial channels, and under the new law, those offering such protection would be subject to criminal charges. This approach seeks to address both the visible and hidden layers that allow scam operations to exist.
Deadline for Provinces to Eradicate Fraud
Alongside the legislative push, the government has set a hard deadline for cleaning up telecom scam activity across the country. Authorities have given themselves until the end of April to eliminate these operations nationwide. After that date, they will review how each province has performed, checking whether fraud networks are still active in their areas.
If a province fails to address the issue of telecom scams after the deadline has passed, the local leaders and law enforcement officers may be held accountable for their actions. According to Chhay Sinarith, the consequences for those who fail to act or allow the crime to occur include administrative or criminal actions. This means that by holding law enforcement officers accountable for their actions, the government is clearly indicating that there are consequences for doing nothing.
Ongoing Raids and International Cooperation
The proposed law against telecom fraud was initiated during a period when the government was actively enforcing the law against scam operations. In fact, since last June, the Cambodian authorities have cracked down on 250 scam compound operations nationwide, including 91 scam operations located in casinos. The operations have already resulted in the prosecution of 679 suspects involved in the scam operations.
In addition, the Cambodian authorities have deported 8,989 individuals involved in scam operations back to their home countries. Almost 6,000 of these individuals deported from Cambodia were from China. In addition, the government has also strengthened its alliance against telecom fraud operations in the country, particularly with China.
Source: Asia Gaming Brief (AGB)
