Wave of Cambodian Casinos Suspended after Prince Sanctions

Two buildings and the barbed wire fence of Jin Bei 4 in Sihanoukville's Buon commune on March 4, 2023 | Danielle Keeton-Olsen / Mekong Independent

In an article for Mekong Independent, Ly Lin and Danielle Keeton-Olsen discuss the license suspensions of more than a dozen casinos in Cambodia, several of which are suspected of involvement in spiraling global scam operations, following international sanctions and mounting pressure. Some of the casinos on the list of 14 suspensions have links to the recently sanctioned entities, such as Cambodian Heng Xin Real Estate Investment Co. Ltd., and Jin Bei Group Co. Ltd.

More than a dozen casinos, including several suspected of involvement in Cambodia’s spiraling global scam operations, have had licenses suspended following international sanctions and mounting pressure.

Cambodia’s gambling regulator, the Commercial Gambling Management Commission, provided a list of the suspended licenses in the wake of U.S. and U.K. sanctions against conglomerate Prince Group and its affiliates last month. The U.S. froze $15 billion in cryptocurrency in the October action, putting a spotlight on the massive profits of an industry racked with reports of torture, kidnappings, forced labor and human trafficking.

Ros Phirun, the commission’s secretary-general, shared on Monday a list of 14 casinos whose licenses were suspended. The list includes several casinos in Sihanoukville branded “Jin Bei” and a casino complex in Kandal province’s Sampov Poun city also connected to the newly-sanctioned Prince Group. This follows reports of Sunday morning raids on four casino locations in Sihanoukville that are linked to the new list of sanctions.

He told Mekong Independent that the regulator had begun looking into operators as a result of the U.S. and U.K. sanctions. The 14 licenses were suspended because they were suspected of running online scams, they self-filed for suspension, or they showed “seriously non-compliant license criteria after warnings and penalties,” he said in a message.