Cambodia’s $19 Billion Financial Scam Empire Fueled by Crypto, Says Watchdog Group

Cambodia's Crypto-Fueled Scam Economy Exposed

A new report has uncovered the involvement of Cambodia's ruling elite in a global scam economy powered by cryptocurrency. According to the Humanity Research Consultancy (HRC), high-ranking members of the Cambodian People's Party have enabled and profited from transnational fraud schemes that rely on trafficked labor and untraceable digital assets.

The report singles out the Huione Group as a critical player in what it calls a "vertically integrated" scam industry, now worth up to $19 billion a year or 60% of Cambodia's GDP. The report's author, Jacob Sims, a visiting fellow at Harvard University's Asia Center, accuses the Cambodian state of systematically supporting these criminal networks operating behind scam compounds, human trafficking, and crypto-based platforms.

Among those named in the report are Hun To, the cousin of Prime Minister Hun Manet, who sits on the board of Huione Group, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Sar Sokha, who is identified as a co-investor in one of Cambodia's largest scam compounds.

The findings align with a recent UNODC report that warned of Southeast Asia's scam infrastructure spreading globally, with Cambodia cited as a key node in this expansion. The report highlights the relocation of scam operations from major cities to rural provinces, where new compounds have been rapidly constructed since 2022.

The report also cites blockchain analytics firm Elliptic's findings that Huione had launched its own stablecoin, expanding its ability to process illicit payments while bypassing traditional financial channels. Telegram has since banned channels and accounts associated with Huione Guarantee, a rebranded version of the platform, citing violations tied to fraud and money laundering.

The scale of these operations, according to Deddy Lavid, CEO of blockchain analytics platform Cyvers, makes Cambodia a global focal point for crypto-based fraud, particularly in the form of "pig butchering" scams, where victims are emotionally groomed and convinced to invest large sums under false pretenses.

The report's revelations underscore the urgent need for greater scrutiny and action to address the entanglement of Cambodia's ruling elite in this global scam economy fueled by cryptocurrency.