Thai PM levels up measures against cybercrimes in neighbouring countries including Cambodia, now in border dispute with Thailand

Thailand offers itself to be a centre of cybercrime suppression in the region, where concerned organisations, including the UNODC and Interpol, as well as the international community, will be invited to take part. The focus is on Cambodia

PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra announced drastic measures against cybercrimes in neighbouring countries, especially Cambodia, where she cited the latest report by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as being among the global hubs of cybercrimes. She further cited international reports that cybercrimes, money laundering included, have contributed to 40-60% of Cambodia’s GDP, or BT 600 billion.

“It’s a threat to national security,” she said.

Pol. Gen. Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, Senior Inspector General and Director of the Police Cyber Taskforce and Anti-Human Trafficking Center, confirmed the initiative, saying Thailand will act as a center for suppression of cybercrimes in the SE Asia region, especially in Cambodia, which has now become the largest hub of scam call centers in the region as they have relocated from Myanmar’s Myawaddy to Cambodia.

Also acting as a head of the UNODC’s taskforce (Specialised Cyber Scam and Trafficking in Persons for Forced Criminality Taskforce), Pol. Gen. Thatchai said the centre will invite global organisations, including the UNODC and Interpol, to help in the task. A new war room will be set up to monitor transnational organised crime networks’ movements. Those found to be involved in these illegal activities, including money laundering in Cambodia, will be investigated and arrested.

“Actually, we have been working together and have regular meetings (under the taskforce). Cambodia is also a member of Interpol and has internal mechanisms to suppress these criminal operations,” said Pol. Gen. Thatchai.

In late July, Asian Interpol will hold a meeting to exchange intelligence work, and the focus of the meeting will be cybercrime suppression in the region to try to locate operational bases of these criminals so that concerned officials can suppress them more efficiently, said Pol. Gen. Thatchai. 

Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society will track money transactions and mule accounts concerning cybercrimes and scam call centres’ activities, PM Paetongtarn added. It will also cease providing Internet services and undersea internet gateways for Cambodia’s military and security agencies.

The Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), meanwhile, will also track money laundering activities and undertake seizures of assets transferred abroad through these criminals’ networks, the PM further said, adding the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will help coordinate this new body of work.

(Read: UNODC’s Inflection Point 2025/ Policies and Patterns: State-Abetted Transnational Crime in Cambodia as a Global Security Threat)

Security front

PM Paetongtarn also said the security forces will step up their border control measures via more restrictions on opening and closing times and exit and entry permits at border checkpoints along seven border provinces. 

Checkpoints on the Thai side will prohibit entries and exits of vehicles and passengers except for humanitarian purposes such as education, public health, and necesary acquirements of groceries and household items. Tourists will also be barred from crossing the border for gambling in casinos as far as Siem Reap.

Exports of electricity, oil, and goods, including fuels that will be used in criminal activities in Cambodia, will be halted, she further said. The Ministry of Commerce and private companies will help cushion impacts from the measures by absorbing agricultural produce from affected farmers, she said.

PM Paetongtarn said the government has authorised security forces along the border to execute measures seen as appropriate and proportionate. They will be the ones who make a decision whether a closure of the border is needed.

PM Paetongtarn said she has set the deadline for these measures. They must be accomplished within three months, with the KPI placed alongside to help measure the success. They include records on cybercrime complaints and cases, damages, asset seizures, and criminal charges against those criminals. All must decline over time, she stressed.

This evening, the Royal Thai Army, through the First and Second Army Regions, and the Royal Thai Navy’s Chanthaburi and Trat Border Defense Command, have issued the new border restriction orders to tighten all checkpoints along the border following the new government policy.

High-ranking army officers, including Army Commander in Chief Gen. Phana Khlaeoplotthuk and Second Army Region Commander Lt. Gen. Boonsin Padklang, earlier held a meeting to monitor the situation and visited the armed forces along the border in Surin province.

The dispute 

PM Paetongtarn’s latest move follows the leak of her telephone call last Wednesday with former Cambodian PM Hun Sen, and now the President of the Senate. In a 17-minute clip released by Mr. Hun Sen, she was heard negotiating with him, using a friendship between the two families to try to settle the ongoing border dispute and the border closure threat between Thailand and Cambodia. (Read: Thai PM apologises for leaked phone call audio over border dispute with Cambodian leader Hun Sen whereas public resentment growing)

Shortly after the leak of the audio clip, the public and coalition parties have pressured PM Paetongtarn heavily, calling on her to immediately step down from the PM post. The incident is shaking Thai politics and its stability, forcing PM Paetongtarn to rush to reshuffle her cabinet much earlier than planned. Some coalition parties especially Bhumjaithai have decided to depart.

So far, the Thai government, represented by Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister, Somkid Chuekong, has filed a complaint against Mr. Hun Sen, accusing him of breaching national security as it has caused a division in Thai society.

Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, however, issued a strong protest against his act yesterday, saying Mr. Hun Sen’s recording is in compliance with international standards and recognition that states must compile documents on discussions between national leadership, especially when such communications involve diplomatic, national security, or bilateral cooperation.

However, he did not mention about the unilateral release of the clip without prior notice to PM Paetongtarn.

Cambodia’s response

Cambodia’s Ministry of Post and Telecommunication, meanwhile, has also issued a statement in response to Thailand’s cybercrime allegations earlier made by Thailand’s Minister of Digital Economy and Society, Prasert Jantararuangtong. They were similar to what was reported to PM Paetongtarn at the meeting today.

Cambodia’s PT Minister Chea Vandet said the claim that Cambodia may be harbouring “the world’s largest cybercrime networks backed by the ruling elite” is baseless, irresponsible, and deeply misleading. It undermines efforts to foster trust and cooperation within our region, he said.

Cambodia, he said, has never supported, nor will it ever tolerate, cybercriminal activity. Cambodia remains fully committed to integrity, transparency, and adherence to the rule of law and international norms, he pointed out.

On February 20, the government established the Commission for Combatting Online Scams to prevent, suppress, and crack down on online scams. Cybercrime, he added, exists within a complex and evolving ecosystem of technologies, actors, and vulnerabilities. Due to its transnational nature, combating cybercrime requires sustained collaboration, especially among governments, the minister noted.

“Transnational crime is a shared challenge that demands joint accountability, not political deflection. Thai authorities should focus on dismantling criminal networks within their borders and engage in constructive cooperation rather than irresponsible finger-pointing,” said the Cambodian minister, alleging Thailand in return for allowing the same operations to expand on its soil by citing a few incidents reported by the media.

Cambodia’s PT Minister remarked that combating cybercrime requires regional collaboration. Cambodia, he said, has consistently worked, and will continue to work, in close cooperation with regional and global partners to combat cybercrime. 

“It is regrettable that at a time of heightened tensions, “certain parties” have chosen to cast Cambodia in a negative light rather than pursue constructive and positive dialogue. Cambodia, as always, stands ready to engage in open and constructive dialogue and thorough investigation. We urge all parties to act based on facts, not misinformation or politically driven narratives,” Cambodia’s PT Minister said.

Cambodian PM Hun Manet, meanwhile, remains silent over the issue. He ordered the cessation of imports of oil and gas from Thailand last night onwards. “Fuel supply companies in Cambodia can import sufficiently from other sources to meet domestic fuel and gas demands within the country,” he said on his FB post.