As Cambodia’s scam crackdown deadline looms, criminal gangs flee

Young, naive and now sleeping rough on a plastic sheet outside their embassy in Phnom Penh, Indonesians Abdul* and Hafiz* are among the expendable human…

Young, naive and now sleeping rough on a plastic sheet outside their embassy in Phnom Penh, Indonesians Abdul* and Hafiz* are among the expendable human resources of Southeast Asia’s scam trade.

After a year-long tumble through Cambodia’s vortex of scams, they were cast out onto a pavement – penniless and without passports – waiting for the embassy to issue new travel documents and a plane ticket home.

“Our Chinese boss stole all of our passports,” said Abdul, 20, gesturing to a dozen or so of his defeated compatriots squinting in the sun from behind a jumble of bags and umbrellas.

“He didn’t want any responsibility for us and did not pay any salary,” added Hafiz, 19, giving only one name like his friend. “Some people worked for one month, some for four months or for one year. Nobody has any money to take home.”

A Cambodian military official shows computer equipment seized from raided cyberscam centres on March 11. Photo: AFP

Under pressure from China and the US, Cambodia says it is scorched-earth time for the scammers, vowing they will be gone for good by April. Observers call it an ambitious deadline, especially given the scale of a criminal enterprise that has deeply embedded itself.

Across the country are dozens of compounds generating, depending on who you believe, as much as US$19 billion annually, equivalent to more than half Cambodia’s formal economy.

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