Hun Manet orders crackdown on Cambodian scam centers
Activists query sincerity of prime minister's announcement
Prime Minister Hun Manet has ordered a sweeping crackdown on scam centers in Cambodia, but observers are skeptical it will result in meaningful change. © Reuters
ANANTH BALIGA
PHNOM PENH -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has ordered a sweeping crackdown on scam compounds across the country in what campaigners against the criminal activity fear is likely to be a performative exercise.
Cambodia is among the nations at the epicenter of global scam operations, where foreign workers are trafficked or lured into the country using fake job ads and forced to steal billions of dollars through romance, investment and crypto scams. People from China, ASEAN, South Asia and Africa have been documented working at scam compounds in the country.
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