Cambodian lawmakers propose severe prison time for crypto scammers

Cambodia's parliament passed legislation targeting compounds used to defraud victims through scams, including those involving cryptocurrency.

In a Friday notice, the Senate of the Kingdom of Cambodia announced that the chamber had unanimously approved the draft law with no amendment, with 58 senators voting yes. According to reports, the draft bill, which would still need the king’s approval before becoming law, imposed prison time between two to five years and up to $125,000 in fines for certain crimes, or twice the time in prison and penalties if part of a gang or targeting multiple victims. 

“The draft law stipulates the establishment of criminal rules to fill the gaps and deficiencies in the current law, which will contribute significantly to addressing challenges that pose serious risks to social security, the economy and citizens, including affecting Cambodia's reputation, as well as improving the effectiveness of the fight against fraud through technological systems, aiming to contribute to the preservation and protection of public security and order, and improving the effectiveness of cooperation in combating this crime,” said a translation of the Friday Senate notice on the bill.

According to a 2025 report from the US State Department, Cambodia’s government “frequently downplayed scam operation cases as labor disputes,” never arresting or prosecuting any owner or operator of a suspected scam compound. The Cambodian operations are just some of many across parts of Southeast Asia, where compounds are alleged sources of forced labor.

Related: UK sanctions $20B scam market by cutting ‘legitimate’ crypto ties

The passage of the bill followed UK authorities sanctioning the operators of a Cambodia-based scam center, and the country extraditing to China the leader of a criminal syndicate with alleged tied to scam compounds. Cambodia’s national assembly advanced the bill on March 30, with all 112 members voting yay. 

What happens in these scam compounds?

According to a 2024 UN News report that explored a compound in the Philippines, scam centers like the ones targeted under the Cambodian bill were massive undertakings, with facilities designed so that the residents would never need to leave. Although many of the workers were responsible for carrying out the scams, they were also “trafficked here, held against their will” and “exposed to violence” in the compounds.

“The people who work here are basically fenced off from the outside world,” said the report. “All their daily necessities are met. There are restaurants, dormitories, barbershops and even a karaoke bar. So, people don’t actually have to leave and can stay here for months.”

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