A South Korean inspection team led by Second Vice Foreign Minister Jina Kim arrived in Cambodia a day after Seoul issued a travel ban for parts of Cambodia over concerns that its nationals are being trafficked into online scam compounds. Following the death of a South Korean student in Kampot province, South Korean police plan to launch a “Korean Desk” in Cambodia to handle cases involving Korean nationals, citing difficulties in cooperation with Cambodian police. Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior stressed that the country welcomes all international collaboration to prevent and combat crime, but emphasised that a single case should not hinder broader cooperation efforts. The National Police have countered South Korean media claims that as many as 80 Korean citizens are unaccounted for in Cambodia, noting that they have “intervened” in 35 cases involving 40 South Koreans so far this year. Cambodia will deport on Friday (Oct 17) 59 South Koreans who worked in cyberscam schemes, police said, after Seoul sent a team to investigate the fate of dozens of its nationals.
US President Donald Trump will attend the ceremonial signing of a peace agreement between Thailand and Cambodia at an upcoming regional Southeast Asian summit, Malaysia's foreign minister said on (Oct 14). Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhonn informed Thailand, Malaysia, and the US in a meeting facilitated by the latter two that Cambodia reaffirms its commitment to the ceasefire and other terms of the agreements, despite territorial issues persisting at the border with Thailand.
The U.S. and U.K. blacklisted Prince Group, a Cambodian conglomerate they call a transnational criminal organization running online scam operations built on modern slavery to target Americans and other victims abroad. The U.S. government has seized more than $14 billion in bitcoin and charged the founder of a Cambodian conglomerate in a massive cryptocurrency scam, accusing him and unnamed co-conspirators of exploiting forced labor to dupe would-be investors and using the proceeds to purchase yachts, jets and a Picasso painting. Three Singaporeans have been sanctioned for alleged links to a fraud empire involving a Cambodian conglomerate and its China-born chief executive, as part of the largest crackdown by the United States and United Kingdom on cybercriminal networks in Southeast Asia. Cambodia's government said it hopes the U.S. and Britain have sufficient evidence in their pursuit of Prince Holding Group and its Chairman Chen Zhi, after both governments imposed coordinated sanctions accusing the Cambodian conglomerate of running massive online scams and using forced labor.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has confirmed that the 18 Cambodian soldiers held captive by the Thai military are safe and in good health.
