The country's authorities also allow the press to access a criminal facility to prove that they are dealing with sophisticated fraud lines targeting victims around the globe.
Currently, we have sealed about 190 locations" - Mr. Chhay Sinarith, Deputy Chief of Office of the Secretariat of the Cambodian Online Fraud Prevention Committee, said on February 11 before visiting a large complex in Kampot province, near the Vietnamese border.
According to Mr. Chhay, the campaign began at the end of last year after Cambodia arrested and extradited suspect Chen Zhi, believed to be the "fraud boss", to China for investigation. This is considered the strongest international move ever against these criminal networks.
Chen Zhi, 37 years old, is the founder and Chairman of Prince Holding Group, a large corporation based in Cambodia. Chen Zhi is accused of being the head of a large-scale online crime network, related to online fraud and money laundering worth billions of USD, operating in many countries.
To date, Cambodia has arrested 173 ringleaders related to the above-mentioned centers and deported 11,000 workers.
In recent weeks, thousands of people working in fraud centers, including human trafficking victims held in harsh conditions, have left compounds to return home.
At the complex in Kampot, reporters were exposed to a large office equipped with computers and instructions on how to defraud Thai victims, a recording room used for phone calls and a fake Indian police station.
At the My Casino complex in Kampot, police said they do not have enough personnel to arrest or stop fraudsters.
We only have about 1,000 police officers and 300 military police officers, while the number of people working here is about 6,000 - 7,000 people," said Mao Chanmothurith, Director of Kampot Provincial Police.
Cambodia's previous campaigns did not prevent the spread of this model. However, officials said this campaign is larger in scale, focusing on closing facilities and arresting ringleaders.
