Al Jazeera’s latest 101 East investigation has placed Cambodia’s online-scam crisis back under the international spotlight. The programme, posted on October 10, investigates Long Bay, a tourism development in the Dara Sakor, Koh Kong province. It presents allegations of scam operations, forced criminality, drug use and protection by officials connected to a Chinese-Cambodian businessman identified as Deng Pibing.
The report deserves public attention and a careful response.
Undercover footage and statements are not the same as a court judgment. The allegations involving Deng, his associates and Cambodian officials should be independently investigated before being treated as facts. Al Jazeera noted that of the named individuals denied involvement or claimed not to know about the alleged operations, while domestic/overseas government institutions did not respond.
The investigation is difficult to dismiss because it follows years of reporting about compounds in Cambodia where people were trafficked, confined and forced to conduct online scams targeting Chinese, Americans and Europeans. The investigation reported that Long Bay had been linked to scam operations and that victims had been rescued from the area. In February 2026, Mekong Independent observed foreign workers leaving Long Bay and described people hiding or seeking shelter during the nationwide crackdown.
The key question is whether the state can ensure that no form of online scams survives, relocates or reappears under a different name.
The goal cannot be merely to make the problem smaller (From cancer to flu). Online scams remain a crime whether operated in compounds, a rented house or via a digital network. Every form must be investigated, dismantled and prevented from returning.
Cambodia has taken significant action.
The government created the Commission for Combating Online Scams and launched nationwide crackdowns. It has also cooperated with other nations, international organisations and partners. It successfully launched the International Conference on Combating Online Scams with the adoption of the “Phnom Penh Declaration” and several other bilateral initiatives aimed at “breaking the chain” and eradicating online scams.
Cambodia’s law-enforcement efforts should not be ignored.
The 2026 US Trafficking in Persons Report acknowledged increased raids, arrests, international cooperation and the closure of online scam centres. But the same US report kept Cambodia in Tier 3, the lowest category. It alleged selective enforcement, official complicity, inadequate screening of potential trafficking victims and failures to prosecute traffickers connected to related criminal activities. Cambodia’s challenge is not only to show how many raids have been conducted but also whether related associates were investigated equally, regardless of their wealth or connections.
The issue connects to Cambodia’s financial reputation.
Cambodia was placed on the Financial Action Task Force’s increased-monitoring process, the grey list, in February 2019. It was removed in February 2023 after progress on its anti-money-laundering action plan.
RFI reported at the time that the listing reflected concerns about weak financial controls, corruption and the risk that Cambodia could be used to hide illicit gains. More recently, AGBrief reported that National Bank Governor Chea Serey warned Cambodia could face the risk of being listed again if the situation does not improve. Cambodia is not currently on the FATF grey list, but the warning shows that removal is not a permanent exemption.
The next stage of this campaign must follow the money: identify suspicious assets, trace beneficial ownership and ensure that seized property and funds are managed transparently.
Transparent asset management protects Cambodia’s national interest.
The government has also created the Commission for examining, monitoring, collecting, managing and disposing of evidence connected to online scams. Established through Royal Government Decision No. 70 dated June 12, 2026, and led by Senior Minister Chhay Sinarith, its work should be publicly documented and published so Cambodian citizens and the regional and international community can see how seized properties and assets are preserved, valued, managed and disposed of.
Geopolitical dimensions cannot be ignored.
Cambodia has benefited from cooperation with both China and Western partners. China provides important investment and law-enforcement cooperation. Western governments provide pressure, sanctions and demands for stronger transparency, human-rights protection and accountability. Cambodia should not be forced to choose between these relationships and instead use cooperation mechanisms with all partners while applying its own sovereign laws fairly.
Cambodia should start to avoid answering every critical report by calling it an attack on the nation.
If the Al Jazeera allegations are false, a credible investigation will demonstrate that. If they are true, denying them will only deepen public distrust and invite stronger external action. Sovereignty is not protected by shielding powerful people from scrutiny, but rather when Cambodian institutions can prove that no one is above the law.
The public should also remember that not everyone found inside a scam compound is a scammer. Some people may have been trafficked or forced to commit crimes. They need screening, protection and legal assistance rather than punishment. At the same time, businesses, local authorities, banks, journalists and communities must help identify recruitment, money-laundering and property risks.
The Al Jazeera investigation now becomes a test. Cambodia’s whole-of-government and whole-of-society response must move beyond public assurances. Cambodia can defend its reputation and sovereignty, but only by making accountability visible.
Chhorn Sok Sothy is a young civil servant. The views and opinions expressed are his own.