AKP Phnom Penh, November 26, 2025 --

The Spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior this afternoon issued a statement rejecting a recent commentary published by Channel News Asia (CNA) concerning Cambodia’s ongoing efforts to combat online scam operations.

According to the statement, the CNA website recently released a commentary titled, "Cambodia Scams Not Going Away as Crackdown Only Catches the Small Fry." In addition, CNA also claimed that "the operation is just to show that the authorities are actively working."

In response, the Spokesperson issued a four-point clarification to prevent misunderstandings:

“1. The commentary, which was based on the emotions and political views of Mr. Nirmal Ghosh, is a generalisation that does not reflect the truth and the hard work of the Cambodian and international authorities. Although Cambodia has been committed to the absolute principle of opposing all cross-border crimes from the beginning, on the contrary, Cambodia is not the only country affected by all types of transnational crimes that are occurring across the region and the globe. Even developed countries are facing, tackling, and cracking down on the same crimes. In this regard, the CNA website itself has also produced in-depth, professional investigative documentaries that exposed one country in Southeast Asia as a major centre for transnational crime in the region.

2. Given that transnational crime is a crime that no single country can single-handedly eliminate, Cambodia warmly welcomes relevant international cooperation from friendly nations' authorities. Specifically, the results achieved thus far are the fruit of cooperation with Task Forces of partner countries, including the authorities of the United States (FBI), Japan, Australia, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, etc. The commentary mentioned above not only affects Cambodia but also affects the Task Forces of partner countries, with whom Cambodia has provided active and close cooperation.

3. The Cambodian Command Committee for Leading Research, Investigation, and Suppression of All Types of Crimes has a clear and specific action plan for both the short and long term to implement the Royal Government's policy on cracking down on online scam crimes with firm determination, in accordance with national and international laws. Specifically, in 2023, a total of 283 foreign nationals were arrested and deported from Cambodia. In 2024, a total of 2,982 foreign nationals were arrested and deported from Cambodia. Crucially, in 2025, the authorities cracked down on 24 cases of technology-related fraud crimes. Of these, 13 were through direct investigative research and 11 were through cooperation with foreign authorities, resulting in the detention of a total of 1,859 foreign nationals. Furthermore, 11 cases were built and sent to court, and a total of 148 suspects, including ringleaders and high-risk targets for repeat offences, were detained.

4. Despite the current achievements, the Cambodian authorities are committed to continuing their operations regularly, viewing this work as a priority for the security and safety of its own society, and for the citizens of friendly international countries who are cooperating closely with the Cambodian authorities.”

By C. Nika