US Cyberscam Crackdown May End Cambodian Honeymoon
US Cyberscam Crackdown May End Cambodian Honeymoon
But US crackdown in Myanmar, Cambodia insufficient, say analysts
By: Toh Han Shih
The United States may well have decided that cultivating ties with Cambodia, whose top leaders have been connected to massive cybercrime operations mostly run by Chinese gangsters, may not have been worth it because of the cost to US and other citizens of the world from the scam centers, online investment fraud rings in which victims are cultivated like fattened pigs for slaughter, then deceived into depositing funds into fraudulent investment platforms.
The US blitz may well have dented attempts earlier this year by officials including US War Secretary Pete Hegseth to cozy up to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, a son of longtime strongman Hun Sen amid a flailing Cambodian economy, renewed Thai border tensions and a prolonged downturn in real estate. Washington has responded to a move for friendly ties by Hun Manet, reported Asia Sentinel on January 19, in a bid to blunt Chinese interests in Southeast Asia. Cambodia is perhaps China’s closest friend in ASEAN.
“Geopolitical consideration, especially vis-a-vis China, which has a larger-than-life presence in Cambodia, was certainly at the back of the American authorities’ minds, but ultimately they must have felt that the sheer gravity of the harms – ranging from financial frauds to modern slavery – outweighed coddling Hun Sen’s cronies to pry him and them away from China’s sphere of influence,” said a Malaysian analyst who asked to remain nameless.
At the same time, however, the US offensive against scam operations in Myanmar and Cambodia, may not be extensive enough to stem the growth of the scam centers, analysts say.
“The US is using standard law enforcement procedures for criminal activities that require a much more creative approach. Taking out top leaders won’t solve this problem, more junior members step in to take control,” Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, told Asia Sentinel. “Scam centers proliferate in areas controlled by armed groups that have traditionally been allied with the Myanmar military. More support should be given to ethnic administrations in border areas which are trying to stamp out these centers.”
Myanmar is blacklisted by the FATF, the Paris-based financial action task force, because of the risk of money laundering and lack of financial controls, he added. “More should be done to investigate if it how the banking sector in Myanmar is being used to launder scam center money.”
On April 23, the US Department of Justice announced a series of actions by the Scam Center Strike Force against the compounds, which have defrauded Americans of billions of US dollars. The actions include criminal charges against two Chinese nationals who managed a Myanmar cryptocurrency investment fraud compound and attempted to open another in Cambodia, the seizure of a Telegram messaging app channel used to recruit human trafficking in Cambodia to impersonate as US cops, and restrictions on over US$700 million in cryptocurrency alleged to be tied to money laundering from cryptocurrency scams. Huang Xingshan, also known as “Ah Zhe” and “Huang Xing Saan,” and Jiang Wen Jie, also known as “Jiang Nan,” managed cryptocurrency investment fraud operations at the Shunda compound in Min Let Pan, Myanmar.
“Despite ongoing efforts to combat them, scam centers remain highly profitable, leading to the emergence of alternative centers that continue these illegal activities. This shift complicates efforts to apprehend these criminals. It resembles the game Whack-A-Mole; these centers pop up, get shut down, and then reappear elsewhere,” said Matthew Friedman, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Mekong Club.
“That is very likely as this sort of scam centers and will pop up ubiquitously across those parts of Southeast Asia and perhaps even some other parts of the world where local law enforcement is at best cursory and at worst in collusion with the scam perpetrators,” said the Malaysian analyst. He pointed out that scam centers alternated between Myanmar and Cambodia.
The Shunda compound operated from at least January to November 2025, when it was seized by the Karen National Liberation Army of Burma, according to the US Justice Department’s announcement. After it was seized, Huang and Jiang relocated to another scam compound in Cambodia where they attempted to continue their operations, the US Justice Department announcement said. In early 2026, Huang and Jiang decided to return to Burma via Thailand, the US Justice Department added, and were arrested on immigration charges by Thai law enforcement in early 2026.
There is also evidence, recently reported by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, that the notorious scam company Prince Group, shut down in Cambodia earlier this year, may be moving some operations to East Timor.
Geopolitical contest in Cambodia
On April 23, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned a well-connected Cambodian Senator, Kok An, who allegedly controls scam compounds throughout the country, as well as 28 individuals and companies in his network.
“US sanctions against Cambodian Senator Kok An, a close ally of former Prime Minister Hun Sen, go beyond just addressing cybercrime,” said Friedman. “They directly challenge the involvement of the ruling elite in transnational illicit activities. By targeting this inner circle, the US aims to reduce the influence of Chinese-linked criminal networks in Southeast Asia, support regional human rights efforts, and safeguard US national security.”
The sanctioned companies include two of Kok An’s Cambodian companies, Crown Resorts and Anco Brothers. Kok An’s hospitality company, Crown Resorts, owns casinos, resorts and other buildings in Poipet, Sihanoukville, Bavet, and other Cambodian cities been converted into compounds from which criminal organizations conduct digital asset investment frau