Phnom Penh turns up the heat on internet fraud networks, illegal gambling and card games

Phnom Penh turns up the heat on internet fraud networks, illegal gambling and card games

#National

Synopsis: A former worker in a Cambodia-based scam compound describes the inner workings of an online fraud network, revealing key elements of the operation, including scripts used to deceive foreign victims, a highly controlled work environment, and tactics employed to coax people into parting with their money.

In a ramped-up bid to obliterate online scam networks, Phnom Penh Municipality has unveiled a plan ordering systematic combing of condominiums and densely populated areas suspected of hosting illicit activities.

The plan was announced Monday during a meeting among law enforcement units, authorities from all 14 districts, and government departments at Phnom Penh City Hall.

Phnom Penh Governor Khuong Sreng, who also chairs the Capital Unified Command Committee, said the move aims to trace and dismantle online scam operations through clearly designated target locations across the capital.

Sreng also ordered a clampdown on all forms of illegal gambling, including cockfighting, card games, dice gambling, lottery tail-number betting and illegal lotto operations, saying that such activities directly affect the daily livelihoods of citizens

“Fighting online scams is a crucial task that the Royal Government has prioritised and continues to pay close attention to,” Sreng said. “Our law enforcement forces, working together with district unified command committees, have performed well and have already carried out continuous crackdowns on online scams and related crimes, including extortion.”

Under the new plan, authorities will conduct large-scale operations in every district, focusing on areas with high population density and locations deemed suspicious. Condominiums and residential clusters will be subject to inspection.

“This forward plan involves large-scale implementation with clear location mapping from one district to another, especially in areas where many people live and where there is suspicion. Every condominium and concentrated residential area must be inspected,” the governor said.

He asked district authorities and security forces to prioritise public security, safety and social order, ensuring a secure environment in the capital.

Secretary of State at the Ministry of Interior and Permanent Vice-Chairwoman of the National Committee for Counter Trafficking Chou Bun Eng asked the public to trust the government and authorities to cracking down on online scams.

“Cambodia last year created a Commission for Combatting Online Scams in Cambodia, a high-level body led by the Prime Minister himself and tasked with preventing, suppressing, and cracking down on cyber fraud,” she said.

The ambitious plan to crack down on online scams unveiled by Phnom Penh Municipality coincides with Cambodia’s intensified effort to monitor foreign residents to boost public safety.

The government last week issued a new sub-decree to strengthen security management in residential complexes nationwide, with emphasis on overseeing foreign residents.

Under the new rules, property owners and residential managers are required to verify the legal status of expatriates before allowing them to live in their complexes.

Any foreigner entering the country must be registered within 48 hours, and records submitted promptly to local police and administrative authorities. Before allowing a foreigner to reside at a collective residential location under their responsibility, the owner or manager of the residential premises must require the foreigner to provide documentation proving their lawful right to stay in Cambodia, the sub-decree reads.

Those responsible for residential management are obliged to monitor foreign residents and report any suspicious or illegal activity to authorities.

The sub-decree mandates strict penalties for non-compliance. Owners or managers who allow foreigners without authorisation to stay in their complexes face fines of up to four million riels per individual, in addition to potential legal prosecution.

The move by Phnom Penh’s civic body comes on the heels of the arrest and extradition last week of Chen Zhi, the founder of Cambodia-based conglomerate Prince Group, who has been accused of being a “kingpin” of online fraud operations and other transnational crimes.

Just a day after the Ministry of Interior announced Chen’s arrest, the National Bank of Cambodia placed Prince Bank Plc, a banking subsidiary of Prince Group, into liquidation.

The central bank has appointed Morison Kak MKA Audit-Accounting Co Ltd as the official liquidator to oversee the process.

The auditing firm on Monday said that depositors and creditors of Prince Bank Plc have been given a 30-day window to submit claims and supporting documents as part of the ongoing liquidation process.

Those seeking to recover funds must present evidence of their claims either in person or through legal representatives at Prince Bank’s headquarters at Building No. 445, Ground Floor, Preah Monivong Boulevard, Boeng Pralit commune, 7 Makara district, Phnom Penh.

International affairs experts, including Kin Phea, Director- General of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, called for intensified efforts and multinational cooperation to combat online scams.

“It is not the problem of Cambodia alone but also other countries in the region and around the globe,” Phea said. “China has set itself as an example of a helpful partner, and we wish to see more of such cooperation.”

-Khmer Times-

Cambodia has arrested 39 foreigners in connection with cyberfraud in the first 10 days of the year, says the Secretariat of the Commission for Combatting Online Scams. PolicePhnom Penh turns up the heat on internet fraud networks, illegal gambling and card games

#National

Synopsis: A former worker in a Cambodia-based scam compound describes the inner workings of an online fraud network, revealing key elements of the operation, including scripts used to deceive foreign victims, a highly controlled work environment, and tactics employed to coax people into parting with their money.

In a ramped-up bid to obliterate online scam networks, Phnom Penh Municipality has unveiled a plan ordering systematic combing of condominiums and densely populated areas suspected of hosting illicit activities.

The plan was announced Monday during a meeting among law enforcement units, authorities from all 14 districts, and government departments at Phnom Penh City Hall.

Phnom Penh Governor Khuong Sreng, who also chairs the Capital Unified Command Committee, said the move aims to trace and dismantle online scam operations through clearly designated target locations across the capital.

Sreng also ordered a clampdown on all forms of illegal gambling, including cockfighting, card games, dice gambling, lottery tail-number betting and illegal lotto operations, saying that such activities directly affect the daily livelihoods of citizens

“Fighting online scams is a crucial task that the Royal Government has prioritised and continues to pay close attention to,” Sreng said. “Our law enforcement forces, working together with district unified command committees, have performed well and have already carried out continuous crackdowns on online scams and related crimes, including extortion.”

Under the new plan, authorities will conduct large-scale operations in every district, focusing on areas with high population density and locations deemed suspicious. Condominiums and residential clusters will be subject to inspection.

“This forward plan involves large-scale implementation with clear location mapping from one district to another, especially in areas where many people live and where there is suspicion. Every condominium and concentrated residential area must be inspected,” the governor said.

He asked district authorities and security forces to prioritise public security, safety and social order, ensuring a secure environment in the capital.

Secretary of State at the Ministry of Interior and Permanent Vice-Chairwoman of the National Committee for Counter Trafficking Chou Bun Eng asked the public to trust the government and authorities to cracking down on online scams.

“Cambodia last year created a Commission for Combatting Online Scams in Cambodia, a high-level body led by the Prime Minister himself and tasked with preventing, suppressing, and cracking down on cyber fraud,” she said.

The ambitious plan to crack down on online scams unveiled by Phnom Penh Municipality coincides with Cambodia’s intensified effort to monitor foreign residents to boost public safety.

The government last week issued a new sub-decree to strengthen security management in residential complexes nationwide, with emphasis on overseeing foreign residents.

Under the new rules, property owners and residential managers are required to verify the legal status of expatriates before allowing them to live in their complexes.

Any foreigner entering the country must be registered within 48 hours, and records submitted promptly to local police and administrative authorities. Before allowing a foreigner to reside at a collective residential location under their responsibility, the owner or manager of the residential premises must require the foreigner to provide documentation proving their lawful right to stay in Cambodia, the sub-decree reads.

Those responsible for residential management are obliged to monitor foreign residents and report any suspicious or illegal activity to authorities.

The sub-decree mandates strict penalties for non-compliance. Owners or managers who allow foreigners without authorisation to stay in their complexes face fines of up to four million riels per individual, in addition to potential legal prosecution.

The move by Phnom Penh’s civic body comes on the heels of the arrest and extradition last week of Chen Zhi, the founder of Cambodia-based conglomerate Prince Group, who has been accused of being a “kingpin” of online fraud operations and other transnational crimes.

Just a day after the Ministry of Interior announced Chen’s arrest, the National Bank of Cambodia placed Prince Bank Plc, a banking subsidiary of Prince Group, into liquidation.

The central bank has appointed Morison Kak MKA Audit-Accounting Co Ltd as the official liquidator to oversee the process.

The auditing firm on Monday said that depositors and creditors of Prince Bank Plc have been given a 30-day window to submit claims and supporting documents as part of the ongoing liquidation process.

Those seeking to recover funds must present evidence of their claims either in person or through legal representatives at Prince Bank’s headquarters at Building No. 445, Ground Floor, Preah Monivong Boulevard, Boeng Pralit commune, 7 Makara district, Phnom Penh.

International affairs experts, including Kin Phea, Director- General of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, called for intensified efforts and multinational cooperation to combat online scams.

“It is not the problem of Cambodia alone but also other countries in the region and around the globe,” Phea said. “China has set itself as an example of a helpful partner, and we wish to see more of such cooperation.”

-Khmer Times-