Due to prolonged political instability, hundreds of small and medium-sized criminal organizations have found safe haven in Cambodia. According to one of the people cited above, most of these are run from China or by Chinese nationals living in Cambodia.
The Chinese-owned entities run their businesses with the help of local influencers and, in some cases, support from Chinese local governments and politicians, according to people familiar with the scheme. It is said that sometimes. These Chinese-run groups have been found to be involved in a variety of crimes, from arms smuggling to human trafficking, money laundering to cybercrime.
In some cases, these groups function like business organizations. They lure thousands of people from India, the Philippines, Bangladesh and other neighboring countries with promises of high salaries and better job opportunities.
Once new employees join, these groups provide training and collect passports just like any other regular business process outsourcing agency. These people are then usually taken to southern Cambodia, where they are made to work for online fraud or sold to other similar groups as „slave employees“.
Although many Indian nationals have been rescued recently, the government has advised them not to apply for such jobs. In March, the Ministry of External Affairs announced that it had rescued about 250 Indian nationals who had been forcibly interned from Cambodia. cyber fraudIn other scenarios, victims are offered employment opportunities in Bangkok or elsewhere in Thailand. Once they arrive, they are transported overland to Cambodia, where they are forced to deceive people. These victims are working in inhumane conditions. In some cases, victims have lost their lives due to continued pressure from these groups. According to a report by the US State Department, more than 10,000 people from around the world are forced to work as fraud agents by these groups. chinese gang In Cambodia. In addition to being asked to defraud people and organizations, they were also forced to launch cyberattacks on various government and non-government organizations overseas, the people cited said.
In September 2022, Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Chum Seungri said that Cambodia has received requests for intervention from at least nine countries regarding forced labor issues: Thailand, the Philippines, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mongolia, and Malaysia. admitted that.
In 2018, Cambodian police arrested more than 200 Chinese nationals in Takeo province for cyber crimes. Cambodia's Ministry of Interior announced that it has released approximately 900 people from human traffickers in 2022 alone.
In October 2023, more than 20 organizations related to the Cambodian government were attacked by various Chinese hacker groups. These groups were even able to infiltrate data related to Cambodia's national defense.
Similar incidents have surfaced in Myanmar, where Chinese groups in the country's north have lured hundreds of people and forced them to defraud them.
Experts have accused Cambodia's current government of allowing Chinese gangs to operate freely in the country. Many of these groups are said to have been found operating in the homes of nephews, relatives and associates of the current prime minister.
Under China's Belt and Road Initiative, Cambodia has enjoyed financial benefits, but it has also given space to the cyber fraud and illegal gambling industries. Officials say many of these new industries have mushroomed since Chinese investors and Chinese financial aid arrived in Cambodia.
Analysts are concerned that Cambodia is allowing these cyber groups to operate within its territory following instructions received from China. The Chinese Communist Party owns many such groups throughout Indochina.
These Chinese groups are said to have launched cyberattacks on government agencies in countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, India, South Korea, and Japan.
Although Cambodia has been identified as a country where these crimes occur, the masterminds remain out of reach. In 2022, the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report further downgraded Cambodia to a third-tier country. According to experts on China-Southeast Asia relations, Phnom Penh is a victim of China's „debt trap“ and will remain a puppet of China without international support.