Richtlinien und Muster: Staatlich ermitteltes transnationales Verbrechen in Kambodscha als globale Sicherheitsbedrohung | Humanity Research Consultancy

SS: In his May 2025 report *Policies and Patterns*, published by Humanity Research Consultancy, Jacob Sims exposes Cambodia as the epicenter of a vast transnational cybercrime industry fueled by human trafficking and protected by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). Drawing on field interviews and extensive desk research, Sims argues that endemic corruption, elite criminal patronage, and direct state co-perpetration drive the emergence and persistence of this industry, now estimated to generate up to $19 billion annually, surpassing even the country’s textiles sector(!). The report details how government officials, including family members of the Prime Minister and one of the deputy prime ministers, are deeply implicated in running scam compounds, while civil society has been severely repressed and international NGOs rendered ineffective. Sims emphasizes that the industry’s scale and centrality to the CPP’s survival strategy make reform unlikely, and calls for a globally coordinated harm minimization strategy targeting state-criminal networks, insulating global financial systems from laundered proceeds, and investing in the protection of local civil society .