Multibillionaire Cyberscams, Human Trafficking, and Forced Labour in Cambodia
By Anna Toso | 6 November 2025
Summary
The arrest of repatriated Korean nationals involved in Cambodian online fraud centres sheds light on the extensive and highly profitable scam industry in Southeast Asia.
Led by the multinational conglomerate Prince Group, Cambodia’s elaborate scam sector coincides with major human rights violations such as human trafficking and forced labour.
Due to the lack of resources and widespread corruption, Cambodia’s public authorities are unlikely to dismantle scam centres across the country, partly due to the risk of harming its positive diplomatic relations with South Korea and Japan.
In October 2025, 64 South Korean nationals were repatriated from Cambodia, and 58 of them were placed under house arrest due to their involvement in Cambodia’s online scam industry. Over 200,000 people, roughly 1,000 of whom are South Korean nationals, are estimated to be involved in the scam industry in Cambodia. Individuals are recruited via deceptive job offers, which hide a system of human trafficking. Under threat of torture or death, the labourers are forced to operate an online fraud business with a worldwide reach. Scams typically follow a “pig-butchering” strategy – a euphemism for fattening up a victim before they are slaughtered. After establishing a fictitious romance with the target, perpetrators induce subjects to invest funds in fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes that multiply their value before stealing the capital.
The Cambodian scam industry boomed after the Covid-19 pandemic. After the 2020 anti-online crime crackdown in China, Chinese fugitives settled in Cambodia, acquiring hotels and casinos and transforming them into scam centres. Over a few years, the network became a multibillion-dollar business, generating up to USD 30m daily. In October 2025, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) imposed unprecedented sanctions against the facade firm, Prince Group. The conglomerate, headquartered in Phnom Penh, with over 100 shell companies, represents a transnational criminal organisation operating cyber fraud from multiple locations across Southeast Asia. Money laundering occurred in Prince Group’s casinos and cryptocurrency-mining activities, as well as through the purchase of luxury assets and bribes to public officials. Since 2015, Prince Group has been one of the largest conglomerates in Cambodia, operating in over 30 countries under the guise of a financial services and real estate firm.
Domestic Corruption
The 37-year-old Cambodian tycoon, Chen Zhi, runs the company and is now indicted under American jurisdiction. He has close ties with Cambodia’s political regime, advising both the former Prime Minister (PM) Hun Sen and the current PM, Hun Manet, Hun Set’s son. Manet took office after the 2023 elections, widely believed to be fraudulent, following 40 years of his father’s uninterrupted rule. This dynastic succession happened amid widespread grand and petty corruption and clientelism across Cambodia’s economic and political establishment. Allegedly, the Cambodian police have been collaborating with and colluding among the scam centres’ bosses, allowing them to proliferate and develop. Therefore, the recent governmental crackdown against the fraud network has been accused of ineffectiveness, superficiality, corruption, and complicity. Rather than solving the pressing human rights violations related to human trafficking and modern-day slavery, government officials actively benefit financially from the fraudulent business. Accordingly, the 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report classified Cambodia in Tier 3 – the lowest in terms of efforts to counter human trafficking – for the fourth consecutive year.
International and Regional Dynamics
Besides Cambodia, Myanmar is another major centre for the online fraud industry based on human trafficking and forced labour. In early 2025, a joint operation of Chinese-Thai-Burmese authorities uncovered militias trafficking workers across the border with Thailand. Estimates suggest 120,000 people were involved in the Burmese network, which has been growing in the country marred by civil conflict since the 2021 coup. After the multi-national crackdown in Myanmar, many criminals relocated to Cambodia. The South-East Asian scam industry has taken advantage of the existing tensions and porous borders within the region. For example, Thailand claimed the objective of countering cyber-scam centres in Poipet to justify electricity cut-offs and crossing point closures, which risked escalating border tensions.
Diplomatic Implications
The developments related to Cambodia’s scam industry have implications for its foreign relations. In August 2025, public outcry in South Korea emerged when a kidnapped South Korean college student was found dead and tortured by a local criminal ring in Cambodia. In October 2025, South Korea banned travel to multiple regions of Cambodia in response to the risk of exploitation and kidnapping of its citizens. Additionally, the Korean administration’s handling of the “Cambodia crisis” is negatively affecting its popularity among voters. Similarly, the Japanese police also conducted arrests of repatriated Japanese nationals recruited in the scam network. These incidents undermine efforts by Manet’s administration to establish closer collaboration with South Korea and Japan. The two East-Asian countries are long-time American allies, which may see support for Cambodia improving, given the Western-friendly orientation of Hun Manet’s foreign policy. Moreover, these nations are united by the strategic objective of counterbalancing economic overreliance on China. The overdependence on capital from Beijing became more evident with the start of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013. Since then, China has made significant investments in improving Cambodian infrastructure. These projects deteriorated Cambodia’s relations with the US, which sees them as potential strategic assets for the Chinese military.
Glen Carrie/Unsplash
Forecast
Short-term (Now - 3 months)
In the short term, it is almost certain that Cambodia’s authorities will lack the resources, infrastructure, and willingness to conduct effective operations to dismantle scam centres located across its territory. There is a realistic possibility that the involvement of Cambodia’s officials and the ineffective countermeasures against the fraudulent industry could strain its diplomatic relations with South Korea and Japan.
Medium-term (3-12 months)
Given the PM’s dynastic succession in 2023, policy continuity and political patronage are highly likely to continue in Cambodia. Many public officials will likely attempt to hand over their positions to relatives and affiliates, following the PM office’s example.
Long-term (>1 year)
If the US continues to demand democratic reforms and anti-corruption efforts as a prerequisite for improving bilateral relations with Cambodia, the Southeast Asian country is likely to prioritise collaboration with China and its “no strings attached” approach.
