Cambodia passes law to curb cross-border scam operations

Cambodia’s National Assembly has unanimously approved a draft law targeting telecom and online fraud, marking a major step in the country’s efforts to curb cross-border scam operations and strengthen enforcement frameworks.

The legislation was passed during a plenary session on 30 March; all 112 members voted in favour. As we reported at the time, the cabinet endorsed the draft on 13 March.

It still needs to be formally enacted, but once that happens, Cambodia can claim to have put in place its first dedicated criminal statute addressing telecom fraud and one of the earliest comprehensive legal frameworks of its kind in the region.

Authorities say the law aims to prevent the resurgence of scam operations and reinforce long-term enforcement capacity. But will it?

Penalties certainly seem severe. They range from five or 10 years jail for organising or operating telecom fraud centres to life imprisonment for offenses involving aggravating circumstances such as illegal detention, extortion or murder.

Individuals who recruit or train personnel for scam operations, as well as property owners who lease premises used for fraudulent activities, will be targeted – this includes those who claim not to know about illegal use of their properties.

The question, again, is whether the country’s strictest criminal framework targeting scam networks to date will be effective and verifiable. It has, however, been preceded by other important moves, notably, as we reported in January, the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) of Hong Kong and the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC) signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen co-operation in combating scam calls and messages as well as managing spam communications.

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