Jamaine Punzalan

Article (news)

THUMBNAIL-CYBER

Deutsche Welle

<p>For years, governments across Southeast Asia largely approached the region&#x27;s online fraudsters as a matter for the police, anti-trafficking agencies and border authorities.</p><p>But these bodies have appearently failed to stem the rise of international cyberscam cartels. The illicit industry is increasingly using international banking systems, cryptocurrencies, telecommunications networks, shell companies and trafficking routes, with some of its centers operating under the protection of armed or politically connected groups.</p><p>Now, ASEAN governments seem increasingly willing to tackle the threat as a united bloc.</p><div><strong>Myanmar approves death penalty for cyberscam bosses</strong></div><p>Signs of this shift were visible at the controversial meeting in Bangkok on August 6 between Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and President Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar&#x27;s military government.</p><p>The two governments agreed to clamp down on scam centers along their shared frontier, exchange information and jointly disrupt criminal financial flows.</p><p>Thailand also offered support for Myanmar&#x27;s participation in the Egmont Group, an international network of financial-intelligence bodies. Myanmar&#x27;s military-backed parliament had already voted in favor of applying the death penalty on those caught operating online scam centers.</p><p>While visiting Cambodia late last month, Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister Arif Havas Oegroseno also proposed a joint task force to combat online scam syndicates.</p><p>And last week, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Thai Prime Minister Charnvirakul held talks in Jakarta where they agreed their two countries must lead the way and strengthen ASEAN&#x27;s resilience against scam groups.</p><div><strong>Online scams grew into an &#x27;economic security threat&#x27;</strong></div><p>A UN estimate published last month put the annual losses from cyber scammers — many of whom are located in Southeast Asia — at between $88.3 billion and $114.1 billion (between €76 billion and €98 billion) globally in 2025.</p><p>Artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies, encrypted communications and deepfake technology have made their operations cheaper and harder to detect.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/8/10/supreme-court-approves-rules-for-civil-forfeiture-of-pogo-assets-1238">Supreme Court approves rules for civil forfeiture of POGO assets</a></div><p>&quot;Cyber scams in Southeast Asia have evolved beyond a conventional cybercrime issue and should be viewed as an economic security threat,&quot; Hai Luong, a lecturer at Australia&#x27;s Griffith University&#x27;s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, told DW.</p><div><strong>Impact of cybercrime felt around the world</strong></div><p>Governments in Southeast Asia have already had to respond to pressure from the US, the EU and China as their online cartels drew international attention.</p><p>In October 2025, the US designated Cambodia&#x27;s Prince Group, one of the country&#x27;s largest conglomerates, as a transnational criminal organization and imposed sanctions on 146 people and companies connected to it.</p><p>US authorities also charged Chinese-born Prince Group chairman Chen Zhi with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies. Cambodia eventually revoked Chen&#x27;s citizenship and extradited him to China.</p><p>Prince Group&#x27;s business empire extended across real estate, finance and other sectors in Cambodia. US authorities allege that criminal revenues were mixed with legitimate commercial activities through an international network of companies.</p><p>Washington has also sanctioned other Southeast Asian individuals and companies accused of investing in scam compounds and laundering money.</p><p>The EU followed last month, imposing sanctions  on Prince Group and Jin Bei Group in Cambodia and the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army in Myanmar for alleged involvement in cyberscams.</p><div><strong>Cambodia moves against US-sanctioned banks</strong></div><p>In 2024, the United States Institute of Peace estimated that Cambodia&#x27;s cyber-scam industry generated more than $12.5 billion annually, equivalent to roughly a third of the country&#x27;s formal economy.</p><p>The collapse of several scam-linked conglomerates has raised concerns about how the economic shockwaves will affect the rest of the country. At the same time, other voices say negative publicity around scamming is hurting the country&#x27;s tourism sector and keeping away foreign investors.</p><p>Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has acknowledged that the illicit scam economy is damaging legitimate businesses and has vowed a systematic crackdown on online scam networks, including greater scrutiny of the financial sector.</p><p>The National Bank of Cambodia has shuttered at least six financial institutions since the start of 2026. Three commercial banks whose licences were revoked in August had all been sanctioned by the US over alleged links to scam networks.</p><p>On August 4, the Singaporean government introduced legislation that would expand information-sharing between police and service providers, allow authorities to disable accounts suspected of facilitating scams and strengthen restrictions on financial, telecommunications and online services supplied to suspected offenders.</p><div><strong>Criminal groups capitalize on government inefficiencies</strong></div><p>As ASEAN nations try to clamp down on cybercriminals, the region&#x27;s greatest weakness is its fragmentation, Sophal Ear, an associate professor at Arizona State University&#x27;s Thunderbird School of Global Management, told DW.</p><p>&quot;Criminal organizations operate seamlessly across borders while governments continue responding through separate agencies with different mandates and limited coordination,&quot; he said.</p><p>Ear added that the financial infrastructure used to move and conceal criminal proceeds can often prove more resilient than the law-enforcement architecture designed to dismantle it.</p><div><strong>What is in ASEAN&#x27;s anti-crime plan?</strong></div><p>Now, the regional governments seem to be catching on — at least judging by ASEAN&#x27;s new Plan of Action in Combating Transnational Crime for 2026–2035.</p><p>The plan calls for improved intelligence-sharing between national law-enforcement agencies and financial-intelligence units, joint investigations, better cross-border coordination and stronger capacity among anti-money-laundering regulators.</p><p>ASEAN has also recently established a joint working group to combat money laundering.</p><p>But ASEAN&#x27;s consensus-based system still heavily relies on national governments implementing those commitments and sharing sensitive financial and law-enforcement information.</p><p>&quot;In practice, governments should prioritize disrupting the financial infrastructure, labor supply chains, technological services and transnational business models that sustain scam operations rather than focusing solely on individual offenders,&quot; said Luong from Griffith University&#x27;s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice.</p><div><strong>Moving beyond money mules</strong></div><p>Asha Hemrajani, senior fellow at  Nanyang Technological University&#x27;s  S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, agreed that the region needs to take a &quot;holistic, not siloed&quot; approach to attack the entire cyberscam business model.</p><p>&quot;The shared objective should be to identify and dismantle crime syndicate leadership, financial networks and enabling infrastructure, not just arrest money mules or raid individual scam compounds in Cambodia and Myanmar,&quot; Hemrajani said.</p><p>This includes official scrutiny of high-risk corporate structures and checking sources of funding, as well as a much tougher stance against money laundering, she added. Hemrajani also recommended ASEAN sanctioning business groups linked to the cyberscam networks, similar to how Washington cut off sanctioned Southeast Asian companies from the entire US economy.</p><div><em>Edited by: Darko Janjevic</em></div><div><em><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/asean-closing-ranks-as-cyberscam-threat-escalates/a-78304710?maca=en-VAS_ENG_ABS-CBN_Langtext-42381-xml-media"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1774855555426dw-dark-blue-4c_page-0001.jpg" style="width:69px !important;height:50px" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil"/></a></em></div>

<p>Southeast Asian governments are searching for a joint strategy against cyberscammers, a criminal industry that has grown too big, too connected and too embedded in ASEAN economies to be solved just by policing. </p>

Southeast Asian governments are searching for a joint strategy against cyberscammers, a criminal industry that has grown too big, too connected and too embedded in ASEAN economies to be solved just by policing.

ASEAN members closing ranks as cyberscam threat escalates

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

BINI

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

World

ASEAN members closing ranks as cyberscam threat escalates

Deutsche Welle

Published August 11, 2026 07:50 AM PHT

Read More:

POGO

cybercrime

scam

cyberscam

ASEAN

ABS-CBN Newsletter

Your go-to source for the latest news, entertainment highlights, exclusive interviews, and updates on your favorite Kapamilya stars.

ABS-CBN Newsletter

Your go-to source for the latest news, entertainment highlights, exclusive interviews, and updates on your favorite Kapamilya stars.

Sign Up

I have read and agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

Haven't received our newsletter?

Check your inbox to verify and confirm your subscription.

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.