In January Cambodia extradited(引渡) Chen Zhi, believed to be(据信是) the boss of one of Asia’s most powerful criminal organisations, to China. Mr Chen, notorious(臭名昭著的) for online fraud, was an adviser to Hun Sen(柬埔寨前首相洪森), Cambodia’s longtime strongman(强人（专横的领导人）). His fate has spooked(受惊，吓坏) scam moguls(诈骗大亨) across the country: if the most powerful man in Cambodia could not protect Mr Chen, nobody was safe. Since then, tens of thousands of workers trapped in compounds ringed by barbed wire and armed guards, forced to defraud people around the world, have flooded onto Cambodia’s streets after their bosses fled, leaving the gates open.(自那以后，数万名被困在铁丝网和武装警卫环绕的园区内、被迫诈骗世界各地人们的工人，在老板逃跑、大门敞开之后，涌上了柬埔寨的街头。)
今年1月，柬埔寨将陈志引渡至中国，据信他是亚洲最强大的犯罪组织之一的首脑。陈以网络诈骗臭名昭著，曾是柬埔寨长期强人洪森的顾问。他的命运令全国诈骗大亨们心惊胆战：如果柬埔寨最有权势的人都不能保护陈，那没有人是安全的。自那以后，数万名被困在高墙铁网、武装警卫的园区内的工人——他们被迫诈骗世界各地的人们——在老板们逃跑、大门敞开之后，涌上了柬埔寨的街头。
The global online fraud industry is estimated to(据估计) steal more than $500bn a year from victims worldwide, putting it on a par with(与…相当) the illicit(非法的) drug trade. Nowhere in Asia are politics and cybercrime more deeply enmeshed(陷入，纠缠) than in Cambodia, where online scams may generate up to $19bn a year, equivalent to 40% of the country’s formal GDP and more than garment manufacturing, its largest legitimate industry.
全球网络诈骗行业估计每年从世界各地的受害者手中窃取超过5000亿美元，使其与非法毒品交易相当。在亚洲，没有哪个国家的政治与网络犯罪交织得比柬埔寨更深，那里的网络诈骗每年可能产生高达190亿美元，相当于该国正式GDP的40%，超过其最大的合法产业——服装制造业。
For years Cambodia was known for staging fake crackdowns(进行虚假打击), with police raiding empty buildings after the bosses had been tipped off(给…通风报信). The past six months have been different, but not as different as the government claims. Cambodia is under greater international pressure than ever before. The crackdown “is not fake; but it is selective and strategic,” says Jacob Sims of Inca Digital, a data-analytics firm. The risks to the elite are multiplying(成倍增加). After America and Britain slapped sanctions on(对…实施制裁) Mr Chen last October, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand seized assets belonging to him and imposed sanctions of their own. “Our country’s image has been damaged and tarnished(玷污，败坏) by online scam syndicates(犯罪集团),” said Mr Hun Sen in May. In April he signed Cambodia’s first anti-fraud statute(法令，法规). Over the past year the government has closed more than 90 casinos, according to Neth Pheaktra, the information minister. Scam operations are often run from inside casinos, which also help launder the proceeds(洗钱).
多年来，柬埔寨以进行虚假打击而闻名，警察在老板们收到通风报信后突袭空楼。过去六个月有所不同，但并不像政府声称的那样不同。柬埔寨正面临比以往任何时候都更大的国际压力。数据与分析公司Inca Digital的雅各布·西姆斯表示，这次打击“并非虚假，而是选择性和战略性的”。精英们的风险正在成倍增加。去年10月美国和英国对陈志实施制裁后，香港、新加坡、韩国、台湾和泰国扣押了他的资产并实施了各自的制裁。“我国的形象已被网络诈骗集团损害和玷污，”洪森在5月表示。4月，他签署了柬埔寨第一部反诈骗法令。据信息部长奈帕德拉称，过去一年政府关闭了90多家赌场。诈骗活动常在赌场内部运营，赌场也帮助洗钱。