Cambodia’s Tough New Law to Crack Down on Crypto‑Powered Scams

The Cambodian National Assembly has approved a strict new law that could hand life sentences to the leaders of large online fraud rings. All 112 members voted in favor, and the bill now goes to the Senate before the king signs it. The country is trying to shut down every scam center by April, a goal pushed by global policing bodies that have labeled these networks a worldwide threat. Under the new rules, the chief criminals of a scam ring could face 15 to 30 years in prison or even life if their scheme causes deaths. Mid‑level ringleaders might get 5 to 10 years, or up to 20 years and heavy fines if their crimes involve violence, trafficking, or forced work. Regular scammers could be sent to jail for 2 to 5 years and fined up to $125, 000. Many of the scams use cryptocurrency to move money quickly across borders and hide it in other accounts. Southeast Asia’s biggest frauds—like “pig‑butchering” investment scams and romance schemes—have taken billions from people worldwide.They often run out of large compounds where staff are forced to work and use crypto, over‑the‑counter trading, and shell companies to launder the money. Experts say the law may push scammers out of Cambodia rather than stop them entirely. They argue that real progress needs to target the people who own or run the compounds, the money‑laundering services that help them, and the overall infrastructure that lets these scams thrive. They also call for tighter monitoring of casinos, better tracking of assets, and stronger cooperation between countries. The crackdown follows recent actions by Taiwan, the United States, and other agencies that have seized hundreds of thousands of bitcoins and billions in crypto tied to these frauds. These efforts show how large the problem is, but also how difficult it can be to keep scammers from moving their operations elsewhere.