Cambodia has begun taking strong legal motion to deal with the rise in digital fraud that has long made the country certainly one of the region’s predominant fraud hotspots.
The government said it had drafted the primary law specifically targeting online fraud centers, as a part of efforts to shut down these operations by the tip of April at the newest.
As AP reports, the policy comes amid growing international pressure as Cambodia-based fraud networks cause tens of billions of dollars in losses annually to victims in lots of countries.
New law geared toward curbing the fraud industry
The draft law, which was approved by the Council of Ministers, imposes strict penalties on people organizing or controlling technology fraud. Violators could face a jail sentence of 5 to 10 years and a positive of as much as 1 billion riel, or about 250,000 US dollars.
If these activities involve human trafficking, violence or illegal detention, the penalty may increase to 10–20 years in prison and a positive of as much as 2 billion riel.
Meanwhile, cases of death of an individual consequently of the activities of fraud centers may end in imprisonment from 15 to 30 years, and even life imprisonment. The bill continues to be awaiting parliamentary approval before it could officially enter into force.
Thousands of victims and repressive operations
This digital fraud industry not only caused serious financial losses to victims, but in addition involved illegal labor recruitment practices.
Many people from across Asia have been lured by fake job offers after which forced to work in scams in slavery-like conditions. Some victims reportedly died while attempting to escape.
Since July last yr, authorities have targeted about 250 locations suspected of being fraud centers and managed to shut down about 200 of them, in accordance with government data. During the identical period, law enforcement also filed 79 legal cases involving nearly 700 people suspected of being ringleaders of fraud networks and their associates.
Additionally, nearly 10,000 staff from 23 countries have been repatriated from fraud centers in Cambodia, while lower than 1,000 persons are still awaiting the repatriation process. The move is an element of the federal government’s efforts to revive the country’s fame and limit the economic and social damage attributable to the digital fraud industry.
