As attention remains fixed on Southeast Asia amid rising tensions between Thailand and Cambodia, a deeper and more troubling issue is gaining international focus. Cambodia’s long-suspected role as a center for cybercrime, human trafficking, and organized fraud is now under renewed global scrutiny.
Recent enforcement actions by the United States, including sanctions targeting entities such as Huione and the Prince Group, have reignited concern over “pig butchering” scams. These sophisticated, long-term online fraud schemes have defrauded victims across the globe and are repeatedly linked to forced labor, trafficking, and violent coercion.
Central to these concerns is Bao Xiong, a Chinese-born businessman who later became a naturalized Cambodian citizen. Regional sources frequently identify Bao as one of the country’s most powerful casino and real estate operators. He is reportedly closely connected to Chen Zhi of the Prince Group, who was recently sanctioned by U.S. authorities. Bao also works alongside a junior partner, He Cheng, another Chinese national naturalized in Cambodia.
Multiple accounts indicate that Bao oversees or influences a network of casino-associated properties throughout Cambodia. These include the Xihu Resort Hotel, the Nanhai International Hotel, and the still-developing Peninsula Integrated Resort in Preah Sihanouk. In recent years, both Bao and He transferred ownership of these properties to trusted subordinates.
Though publicly marketed as legitimate hospitality and gaming businesses, investigators allege that some of these sites have functioned as fronts for criminal operations. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, several properties allegedly shifted their focus to online fraud activities, operating as scam “call centers.” Survivors and advocacy organizations report that trafficked individuals were held against their will, threatened, and forced to target foreign victims through romance and investment scams. Nanhai International Hotel is known to house individuals engaged in cyber scam operations, while Xihu Resort appears on a cyber scam monitoring watchlist.
Sources familiar with ongoing investigations suggest that Bao may now be under active scrutiny by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, potentially in cooperation with the Department of Justice. Although no public indictment has been announced, this possibility highlights a broader shift in U.S. enforcement priorities.
During the administration of Donald Trump, U.S. authorities placed increased emphasis on extraterritorial enforcement, demonstrating a readiness to pursue overseas criminal actors who target Americans. Analysts consider this approach a significant change for regions previously seen as operating with little accountability.
Bao’s latest high-profile project, the Peninsula Hotel in Sihanoukville, has been promoted as a landmark development. However, growing international pressure and potential legal consequences have cast doubt over the project’s viability. Industry observers question whether the development—or Bao’s broader business operations—can survive sustained global enforcement efforts.
What is increasingly evident is that tolerance for large-scale online fraud and human exploitation is fading. As governments strengthen cooperation and financial networks undergo deeper scrutiny, Cambodia’s hidden criminal networks are being brought into the open, exposing powerful individuals along the way.
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