The UK and Cambodia have signed a new agreement aimed at dismantling organised online scam centres and strengthening cooperation against fraud networks operating across borders.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed on 23 September and, according to the Home Office, will enable joint UK-Cambodian working against illegal scam-centre networks for the first time.
The agreement covers intelligence and data sharing, coordinated enforcement activity, financial investigations and support for victims of human trafficking.
UK and Cambodia to share intelligence
British and Cambodian authorities will increase data sharing and coordinate activity against criminal gangs operating scam centres. The countries will also work to identify suspects, support operations and trace and disrupt illicit financial flows.
The UK will provide training to Cambodian law enforcement covering cyber investigations, digital forensics and investigative procedures.
More than two-thirds of UK fraud originates overseas
Fraud Minister Lord Hanson said more than two-thirds of fraud affecting the UK originates overseas. The Home Office also says one in 14 adults and one in four businesses have become victims of fraud.
The agreement forms part of the Government's wider Fraud Strategy, backed by £250 million.
Scam workers can themselves be trafficking victims
The Home Office said many scam centres are based in Southeast Asia and can target thousands of victims at once. It also said some people conducting scams are foreign nationals who have themselves been trafficked and forced to commit fraud under threats of violence or torture.
The agreement therefore includes support for trafficking victims alongside action against those organising and profiting from the networks.
Global Fraud Taskforce
The UK and Cambodia will also cooperate through the Global Fraud Taskforce, developed jointly by the UK and INTERPOL, to identify suspects, coordinate operations and disrupt the financial infrastructure supporting transnational fraud.
Lord Hanson signed the agreement during a visit to Cambodia for the International Conference on Combating Online Scams.
Agreement follows sanctions against Southeast Asian networks
The cooperation follows previous UK action against scam-centre networks operating in Southeast Asia. In October 2025, the UK and United States imposed coordinated sanctions against the Prince Group, its chairman Chen Zhi and related entities over their alleged role in scam-centre operations. The British Government said the measures froze more than £125 million in UK-based assets.