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Cambodian tycoon arrested in crackdown on online fraud networks
Phnom Penh authorities have detained Kuong Li, a 50-year-old businessman featured in a 2023 BBC investigation into alleged human trafficking and online scams operating from compounds in Cambodia. Li faces charges of illegal recruitment, aggravated fraud, organized crime, and money laundering spanning back to 2019.
Court orders pre-trial detention
A Phnom Penh court remanded Li in custody on January 15 pending further legal proceedings. The charges stem from his alleged involvement in fraudulent schemes targeting victims in Europe and the United States, as well as the exploitation of workers within his business operations.
BBC investigation exposes alleged abuses
Li was prominently featured in The Pig Butchering Romance Scam, a BBC Eye documentary broadcast in March 2023. The investigation centered on the Huang Le compound in Sihanoukville, a facility owned by Li, where workers were allegedly held against their will and forced to conduct online scams.
The documentary included testimony from 'Didi,' a Chinese national who claimed he was lured to Cambodia under false pretenses of a high-paying job. Instead, he was trafficked into the compound and compelled to work 12-hour night shifts targeting overseas victims. Didi described being threatened with violence, stating he was instructed to "keep scamming as long as you're alive." He also reported witnessing another worker being beaten after making a mistake.
Didi eventually escaped by jumping from a third-floor window and later found refuge in a Phnom Penh safe house before returning to China. Three years after the documentary aired, he is now employed in a factory in southern China.
Allegations of severe mistreatment
The BBC investigation also presented evidence from Mi Lijun, another Chinese man who fell critically ill while detained at the Huang Le compound. He was later abandoned on a highway and died from organ failure. Footage obtained by the BBC documented his final hours.
Cambodian authorities initially dismiss allegations
Following the documentary's release, Cambodian officials issued a statement in April 2023 acknowledging Li's ownership of the Huang Le compound but dismissed the allegations as "groundless." The letter, from the Department of Anti-Commercial Gambling Crime, claimed an investigation conducted on February 8, 2023, found "no sign of forced captivity or torture." It also criticized the BBC for not reflecting the government's "utmost efforts" to combat human trafficking.
Li himself denied the allegations in interviews with Cambodian media. Despite the controversy, he was awarded the royal honorific title 'Neak Oknha'-one of Cambodia's highest distinctions-in June 2023, elevating his status above his previous title of 'Oknha.'
Broader crackdown on online scam operations
Li's arrest is part of a wider campaign by Cambodian authorities to dismantle organized online fraud networks. The Secretariat of the Commission for Combating Cybercrime reported that Cambodian courts handled 37 major cases between 2025 and mid-January 2026, resulting in the conviction of 172 individuals linked to scam operations.
One notable case involved the extradition of Chinese businessman Chen Zhi earlier this year. Zhi, a billionaire, is accused of masterminding a large-scale online scam network that trafficked workers into forced labor camps to defraud victims worldwide. His extradition was seen as a response to growing international pressure on Cambodia to address scam compounds and related financial crimes.
Prime Minister Hun Manet reiterated the government's commitment to combating online fraud in a Facebook post earlier this month, stating that Cambodia prioritizes "fighting tech-savvy crimes" and aims to "eliminate all negative issues related to online scam crimes."
Regional efforts to combat human trafficking and fraud
The United Nations estimates that hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked into Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, under false promises of legitimate employment. Many end up forced to work in online scam operations under harsh conditions.
Governments across the region have intensified efforts to curb these activities. In Thailand, authorities have ramped up investigations into money laundering tied to scam centers, seizing assets and arresting suspects involved in moving illicit funds through banks, cryptocurrency platforms, and shell companies.
Meanwhile, Myanmar has conducted raids on several high-profile scam hubs, detaining thousands and dismantling facilities accused of running large-scale fraud schemes. Many of these operations are linked to transnational criminal networks spanning multiple countries.
