Caught on film
Cambodian authorities have arrested an alleged “politically-connected tycoon” and online scam kingpin who appeared on a 2023 BBC Eye investigation into global cyber crime.
‘The Pig Butchering Romance Scam’ exposé
Kuong Li, stated the BBC on Tuesday, was featured in its ‘The Pig Butchering Romance Scam’ exposé on human trafficking and online crime perpetuated by scam compounds in Southeast Asia.
The UK public service broadcaster said a Phnom Penh court last week charged Cambodian national Kuong Li, 50, with “illegal recruitment for exploitation, aggravated fraud, organised crime and money laundering relating to alleged offences.”
He’s suspected of committing the crimes since 2019 in his homeland and elsewhere. News first broke on Cambodian media of an exodus of people fleeing scam compounds in the coastal city of Sihanoukville on Friday. The BBC expose that outed Kuong Li in March 2023 featured a scam center he owned in Sihanoukville.
Mass shake-up
The Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association (CJAA) last week cited posts on social media and crime watchdog sites of large numbers of people fleeing Sihanoukville.
According to the CCJA, the exodus is believed to involve approximately 100,000 foreign nationals the UN says work in scam centers across the Southeast Asian country. Residents in Sihanoukville are cited as stating “hundreds of mostly Chinese nationals were moved out of alleged scam compounds earlier this week before police arrived.”
Cambodian police, however, remained tight-lipped on the reason behind the pre-emptive evacuations or if they had made any arrests.
The BBC report on Tuesday, however, revealed Kuong Li was arrested where he awaits in pre-trial detention. Cambodian authorities stated investigations are ongoing into wider networks linked to online criminal fraud.
After news of the Sihanoukville exodus, the CCJA placed it in context with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet’s recent call to step up the fight against “tech-savvy crime” after the arrest of the alleged Prince Group scam kingpin Chen Zhi.
Another one down
Chen Zhi’s arrest in Cambodia and extradition to China earlier this month came after the US Department of the Treasury seized $15bn worth of Bitcoin from him in October.
Like Zhi, Kuong Li represents a major scalp for international law enforcement.
bestowed Kuong Li with one of its highest royal honorifics
The BBC documentary that exposed Kuong Li revealed that his business empire included casinos, real estate, hotels, and construction firms. Cambodia also bestowed Kuong Li with one of its highest royal honorifics, ‘Neak Oknha’, and he was often photographed at public and private events with senior officials.
The BBC claims Cambodian authorities sent it a letter in 2023 confirming Kuong Li owned the Sihanoukville scam center but dismissing the broadcaster’s claims as “groundless”.
