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INSIGHT: Scammers’ abandoned Cambodia compound exposes brutality and banality of fraud

Premium February 6, 2026

Counterfeit U.S. 100 dollar banknotes on the floor inside a compound in O'Smach used for scam operations, at the Chong Chom-O'Smach border crossing, which was bombed and occupied by the Thai military in December following clashes between Thailand and Cambodia along a disputed border area, in Samraong, Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia, February 2, 2026. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa

REVIEW: ‘Money Laundering and Crypto-Assets’ is a timely book to understand financial crime

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ANALYSIS: Everything you need to know about AMLA’s Single Programming Document, including the important dates

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NEWS: Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, plans crypto-backed loans

By Poppy McPherson and Tim Kelly

IN a Cambodian compound with rooms designed to look like Singapore and Australia police offices, papers were strewn across desks and floors: the detritus of a fraud factory abandoned in haste.

Among the documents were profiles of a 73-year-old Japanese retiree, complete with his phone number and bank account balance, and an American woman who disclosed that she was a victim of domestic abuse. Nearby were scripts to commit love scams and impersonate police, as well as a room set up to resemble a Vietnamese bank office.

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REVIEW: ‘Money Laundering and Crypto-Assets’ is a timely book to understand financial crime

 Premium

ANALYSIS: Everything you need to know about AMLA’s Single Programming Document, including the important dates

 Premium

NEWS: Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, plans crypto-backed loans

Regulatory Watch News

  • Treasury Issues Request for Information on CFIUS Known Investor Program and Streamlining the Foreign Investment Review Process

    US Department of the Treasury

    WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), as chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public input on the Known Investor Program and how CFIUS may streamline aspects of its foreign investment review process, while maintaining its rigorous analysis that identifies and addresses national security risk that can accompany foreign investment. Enhancements to the CFIUS process are aimed at facilitating greater investment into the United States from allies and partners and are in furtherance of President Trump’s direction in the America First Investment Policy.

  • Customs finds exceptionally large quantity of counterfeit clothing

    Fiscal Information and Investigation Service - FIOD

    During a regular excise inspection on February 5, Customs discovered an unusually large quantity of counterfeit goods in a warehouse in Montfoort (Utrecht). The case was subsequently transferred to the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), which initiated a criminal investigation under the supervision of the Public Prosecution Service's Office.

    An estimated tens of thousands of counterfeit clothing and accessories from luxury brands such as Hermès, Jacob Cohën, Moncler, Dior, Stone Island, and Casablanca were found in the warehouse. It is suspected that the inventory was destined for multiple outlets.

  • The DFSA fines Ark Capital Management (Dubai) Limited USD 504,000 for market abuse systems and change of control reporting failings

    DFSA

    The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the independent banking, financial services, and markets regulator of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has imposed a fine of USD 504,000 (AED 1,850,940) on Ark Capital Management (Dubai) Limited (ARK) for having inadequate market abuse systems and controls, and for failing to notify the DFSA of a proposed change in control.

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