The Cambodian government is leading a massive, unprecedented crackdown on the scamming business that once accounted for an estimated one-third of the country's GDP. For the past six months, heavily armed security forces have raided scam centers across the country and arrested more than 6,000 in the first couple months of the year.

The campaign began last fall when the United States issued a criminal indictment against Chen Zhi, a multi-billionaire Chinese national who built a vast empire in Cambodia that included a huge network of scam compounds that generated a staggering $30 million a day.

Huang Yan, a Chinese journalist based in Southeast Asia, is among a small group of international journalists covering every detail of the ongoing crackdown against scam centers. Huang joins Eric from Bangkok to discuss why the fall of Chen Zhi was so important and what it reveals about the outsized role that Chinese actors are playing in this saga.

📌 Topics Covered in this Episode

• Cambodia's scam crackdown: reality vs. narrative
• Chinese kingpins behind the networks
• Life inside scam compounds
• The Chen Zhi case and global pressure
• Why the industry persists
• Where the scams are moving next

Show Notes:

• Cambodia: Rain and Dust: The Rise and Fall of Chen Zhi by Huang Yan
• The New York Times: Why Cambodia Handed Over a Man Accused of Stealing Billions in Crypto Scam by Sui-Lee Wee

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