Cambodia has begun hiding the identities of foreigners purchasing passports through a citizenship investment program – a move analysts say will undermine efforts to tackle crime groups that have set up shop in the Southeast Asian nation.

Transnational gangs for years have exploited Cambodia’s passports-for-payment scheme. They have used Cambodian citizenship to evade arrest and conduct illicit activities, including founding a $2.2 billion money laundering syndicate in Singapore.

“With new identities, criminals can cross borders freely, set up companies and move assets,” said Jason Tower, an analyst at the government-supported United States Institute of Peace.

In full: https://www.occrp.org/en/news/criminals-may-benefit-as-cambodia-hides-new-citizenship-data

A Cambodian tycoon and ruling party senator – who the U.S. recently sanctioned, citing links to human trafficking – had business relationships with alleged organized crime figures from China, company records show.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on September 12 against Ly Yong Phat for his “role in serious human rights abuse related to the treatment of trafficked workers subjected to forced labor in online scam centers.”

But Cambodian corporate documents show that his links to the underworld go even further than those mentioned by the Treasury Department.

In full: https://www.occrp.org/en/news/sanctioned-cambodian-senator-had-links-to-alleged-chinese-crime-figures

A Cambodian museum formerly run by North Korea is still closed nearly five years after “temporarily” suspending operations, NK News has confirmed, in a sign that sanctions on DPRK workers have derailed the project.

The Grand Panorama Museum is located near the ticket office for Angkor Wat in Siem Reap and opened in 2015, reportedly bankrolled by millions of dollars in North Korean investment.

The DPRK’s Mansudae Art Studio, which is sanctioned by the U.N. for allegedly raising money for Pyongyang’s weapons programs, was supposed to jointly operate the museum with the Cambodian government for 10 years and share profits equally, according to local media reports.

In full: https://www.nknews.org/2024/09/north-korean-museum-in-cambodia-still-closed-years-after-temporary-suspension/

Cambodia has stopped publishing data on new citizenships issued by the kingdom to foreigners, in the wake of the $3 billion money laundering probe in Singapore.

Checks by The Straits Times and investigative journalism group, Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), showed that the last time new citizenship details were published was in February.

The latest Royal Gazette, published on Sept 27, did not contain any new citizenship data.

In full: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/cambodia-stops-publishing-details-of-new-citizenships-issued-to-foreigners

In 1987, Italy decided that it would include the proceeds from criminal activity in its national accounts. Overnight, its economy grew by 18 percent, allowing Italy to surpass Britain to become the West’s fourth-largest economy. This event became known as il sorpasso (the overtaking). Should Cambodia and Laos follow suit?

A report published this year by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) estimated that the illegal scamming industry in Cambodia is likely worth around $12.5 billion annually, half the country’s formal GDP. While the report does not provide a specific figure for Laos, one can make a calculation. The USIP derived the Cambodia figure by multiplying the conservative estimate of people working in the industry (100,000) by their average daily earnings ($350), then by the number of days in a year. The USIP estimates that 85,000 people are working in Laos’ scam industry, so that would make it approximately $10.8 billion, more than two-thirds of Laos’ formal GDP.

In full: https://thediplomat.com/2024/09/laos-and-cambodia-dont-include-scam-industries-in-their-gdp-data-should-they/

Few establishments could be more depressing than a Sihanoukville casino. Stony faces. Empty rooms. Pleading eyes from hostesses and table dealers desperate to hit their quotas.

Not too long ago, I wondered why Chinese whales (high-rolling punters) would fly all the way to Australia to gamble when cities like this, on the southern beaches of Cambodia, were so close to home and designed especially for them.

Having visited a few casinos in Sihanoukville, it is now a little clearer. The venues we chose, at least, are not places of revelry. They are bright and shiny, stale and despairing. As quiet as libraries.

In full: https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/a-case-study-in-sin-the-rise-and-fall-of-sihanoukville-20240926-p5kdmf.html