Commentary: Sri Lanka exposes the limits of Asia’s anti-scam campaign
Sri Lanka is becoming a new hub for transnational scam operations as regional crackdowns in Myanmar and Cambodia displace criminal networks. Authorities have arrested over 1,000 foreign nationals, but experts warn that such enforcement often disperses rather than dismantles these decentralized scam syndicates.
Why it matters
The migration of cybercrime hubs demonstrates the limitations of localized law enforcement in addressing transnational organized crime.
Crackdowns can encourage criminal networks to become more decentralised and geographically dispersed, says a researcher.
FILE - People from China, Vietnam and Ethiopia, believed to have been trafficked and forced to work in scam centers, sit with their faces masked while in detention after being released from the centers in Myawaddy district in eastern Myanmar, Feb 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanaphon Wuttison, File)
BANGKOK: Sri Lanka is emerging as a new operational base for Asia’s transnational scam industry.
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