FBI chief meets Cambodian leader on online scam crackdown
Kash Patel and Hun Manet discussed joint action against cybercrime networks tied to fraud, trafficking and losses across Asia-Pacific.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
2 min read
FBI Director Kash Patel met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Wednesday for talks on international online scam operations that cost victims billions of dollars a year. The meeting put U.S.-Cambodian cooperation in focus as governments try to break up cybercrime networks based in Southeast Asia.
The talks followed a report issued Tuesday by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which estimated that scam losses in the Asia-Pacific region alone could reach as much as $114 billion in 2025. The U.N. agency warned that criminal groups have adapted to law enforcement pressure by moving to other parts of the world or breaking large operations into smaller units.
Patel arrived in Cambodia after visiting neighboring Thailand, which co-hosted a two-day summit with the United States this week on scam centers. Representatives from nearly 20 countries and hundreds of law enforcement officials attended the summit, according to the account of the meetings.
In Thailand, Patel met Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to discuss cooperation against scam compounds and other cross-border crimes, including human trafficking and drug trafficking. The talks focused in part on sharing information and exchanging intelligence.
Cybercrime has grown across parts of Southeast Asia where enforcement is weak, especially in Cambodia and Myanmar. Authorities have carried out raids on large scam centers, many of them in border areas of Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, according to the U.N. report.
Many scam operations are linked to human trafficking. Foreign nationals recruited through false job offers are often forced to run romance scams and cryptocurrency fraud schemes under conditions described as near-slavery.
Cambodia says it has stepped up action this year against scam operations. A U.S. Embassy statement called the spread of the operations in Cambodia “a top priority for the U.S. government” and said Washington welcomed Hun Manet’s pledge to address the issue.
The embassy said Patel’s visit underscored the need for joint action against transnational cybercrime. It cited the need to hold senior scam operators accountable and to improve information sharing on officials and compound owners accused of enabling the networks.
The United States also supports efforts to secure justice for victims and criminal accountability for online scam operators, their protectors and people involved in related human trafficking crimes, the embassy said.
Hun Manet said in a post on Telegram that Cambodia will host an international conference on combating cyber scams in September. The planned conference would extend the regional push for coordinated action after the U.S.-Thailand summit.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.