Cambodian scam mastermind finally arrested after being exposed years ago
Who knows if infamy helped, but Kuong Li, a 50-year-old Cambodian national featured in a popular BBC investigation, has finally been arrested. The prominent businessman, unsurprisingly, denies all allegations.
Koung Li has been charged with illegal recruitment for exploitation, aggravated fraud, organized crime, and money laundering relating to alleged offences committed in Cambodia and elsewhere since 2019.
Detained last week, Kuong Li, the owner of the notorious Huang Le scam compound, will be remanded in custody pending further proceedings.
The BBC investigation, “The Pig Butchering Romance Scam,” precisely focused on alleged online scam operations in the Huang Le compound in the coastal city of Sihanoukville.
The documentary followed “Didi,” a Chinese national who said he was trafficked into Cambodia and forced to work in the walled compound. He targeted cyber victims in Europe and the US day and night, and was not allowed to leave the complex.
But he also shared secretly recorded footage with the BBC and the Global Anti-Scam Organization. Finally, “Didi” escaped, taking shelter in a safe house and eventually returning to China, where he’s now working in a factory.
The documentary identified Kuong Li as the owner of the Huang Le compound and reported that his business empire covered real estate, casinos, hotels, and construction companies. He had previously been awarded the royal honorific title “Oknha” and had been pictured alongside senior officials at public and private events.
Cambodian authorities insist that investigations are continuing into wider networks linked to organized online fraud. By July 2025, more than 1,000 potential suspects had been arrested following raids in at least five provinces.
The Secretariat of the Commission for Combating Cybercrime claims that the country’s courts handled 37 major cases between 2025 and mid-January 2026, resulting in the conviction of 172 ringleaders and accomplices.
“The government has observed that online scams are currently causing threats and insecurity in the world and the region,” Hun Manet, Prime Minister of Cambodia, said in a statement last year.
Cybercrime has become a lucrative industry in Cambodia, accounting for as much as 60% of the country’s formal GDP. Estimates range from $12.5 billion to $19 billion per year.
After the BBC documentary aired in 2023, the Cambodian authorities dismissed the allegations against Kuong Li as “groundless.”
The most popular types of cybercrime in Cambodia are online scams, money laundering, and other forms of fraud, often involving forced labor and transnational criminal networks.
Many experts have criticized the Cambodian government for doing too little to prevent the spike in illicit cyber activity, suggesting insider ties and corruption. But the arrest of Kuong Li – if it ends in successful prosecution, of course – might be a sign that something might actually be done.
That’s also because after the BBC documentary aired in 2023, the Cambodian authorities dismissed the allegations against Kuong Li as “groundless.” Now, though, he’s in custody.
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