20.01.2026
2 min
377
Cambodia’s police have detained Kuong Li, a major player in one of the world’s most infamous online scam organizations, after years of reporting on his crimes by investigative journalists. The arrest could represent an important turning point in the battle for Cambodia to eliminate its vast cybercrime networks.
Kuong Li is a 50 year old citizen of Cambodia and owner of the notorious Huang Le scam compound located in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. He is being charged with illegal recruitment for exploitation, aggravating fraud, organized crime, and money laundering. According to investigators, these crimes occurred between 2019 and some time thereafter and spanned multiple countries.
Huang Le’s compound received international media attention when a BBC documentary, “The Pig Butchering Romance Scam,” revealed large scale online scams using forced labor. Traffickers working for the scamming organization worked around the clock to scam victims in Europe and the United States while they were not allowed to leave their facility.
In the BBC documentary, a key witness named “Didi” claimed he was trafficked into Cambodia and forced to scam online victims. Didi secretly filmed within the compound and turned over the video to both the BBC and the Global Anti-Scam Organization. After escaping the compound, Didi returned to China where he currently works in a factory.
Prior to the arrest of Kuong Li, he was awarded the royal honorific title “Oknha.” In addition to receiving the royal honorific title, Kuong Li also had ownership interest in a variety of businesses including hotels, casino operations, construction, and real estate.
Following the 2023 documentary, Cambodian authorities stated the claims made in the documentary were “baseless.”
For many years, there have been numerous international criticisms stating Cambodia failed to stop the scourge of online fraud. However, the arrest of Kuong Li could indicate a shift in enforcement. Cybercrime has been estimated to make up as much as 60 percent of Cambodia’s formal GDP. As such, the result of this trial will be very close to the heart of whether or not the Cambodian government is committed to eradicating transnational scam networks.
