A new report denounces that illegal income is estimated at 12.5 billion dollars, in a country where the GDP in the same period approached 30 billion. The expansion of this traffic scares away foreign investors and conditions economic growth. The authorities’ repressive interventions must take into account that many Chinese citizens “covered” by Beijing’s interests in Cambodia are involved.
Phnom Penh () – A new report indicates not only the size but also the growth of the Cambodian network dedicated to internet fraud. Organized by powerful cross-border gangs, the network has support and timely distraction from the authorities, and its activities are connected to the development of other illegal activities, such as money laundering, slavery of the workers involved, and extortion.
International initiatives and local organizations that have long called for investigations and convictions have led to some measures to repress the phenomenon, but the same authorities point out the “economic utility” of these illegal activities for the country. The last one that has tracked the coordinates of this situation is the report of the United States Institute for Peace which was published a few days ago and significantly titled “Transnational Crime in Southeast Asia: A Growing Threat to Global Peace and Security”. Its objective is to show – by proposing a locally collected casuistry – that the consolidated relationships between organized crime and local structures are already well-rooted and that the former prosper without apparent obstacles.
This is indicated by the illegal profits, estimated at 12.5 billion dollars, in a country where the GDP approached 30 billion in 2022. Last year, and especially in the first part of 2024, the economy registered significant growth; However, its potential is limited, partly by vested interests that manage a significant underground economy and partly by its reputation as a country where criminal initiatives can thrive almost undisturbed, thus scaring away important investors.
As Yong Kim Eng, president of the People’s Center for Development and Peace, noted, the scale of cybercrime is such that many foreign observers raise the issue when talking about the country, and their concern is evident.
Kim Eng himself acknowledges that the government has implemented repressive measures, such as the arrest and deportation of many suspects, often Chinese nationals. But precisely this participation makes repression problematic, given the close relations of the Cambodian government with Beijing, from where it receives most of its investments and aid, which leaves Chinese businessmen ample opportunities to operate in the country and use their resources and manpower. In many cases these are initiatives that include illegal activities, such as casinos, another sector open to money laundering.
As evidence of the connection between local authorities, criminal groups and supranational institutions, the report’s compilers suggest that the Financial Action Task Force’s decision to remove Cambodia from the “grey list” of countries under observation would have been conditioned by lobbying action carried out by the Cambodian government. It remains an unanswered question whether this was done to protect disreputable activities or national interests, in order to allay the doubts of potential investors.
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