By Suy Se

Waving their national flags, dozens of Chinese nationals protested outside Cambodia’s central bank on Monday, demanding the unfreezing of accounts they opened with a financial services firm linked to cyberscamming.

Some demonstrators wielded umbrellas and clashed with scores of local security personnel armed with batons, leaving at least two protesters bloodied.

The former chairman of Huione Group, Li Xiong, was extradited to China on April 1, with Chinese authorities saying he was central to a major transnational gambling and fraud syndicate, and suspected of multiple crimes.

Protesters said their accounts with its digital payments platform H-Pay, previously Huione Pay, had been frozen since December.

Construction and renovation company owner Wang Xijun said he had about US$50,000 locked in his account and has been unable to pay his staff for around three months.

“We are Chinese citizens. We support the crackdown on illegal online gambling and illicit earnings,” Wang shouted.

“But do not lay your hands on us ordinary civilians,” he added. “Give the people’s money back!”

The US government last year accused Huione, which owned several companies offering e-commerce, payment and cryptocurrency exchange services, of laundering funds for transnational criminal groups perpetrating scams from Southeast Asia.

But the protesters in Phnom Penh say they have nothing to do with these alleged crimes and now cannot access their assets deposited with Huione, calling on the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) to intervene.

Monday’s demonstration followed protests earlier this month outside the NBC and the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh.

Li Shangfu, 54, said many Chinese people in Cambodia had used Huione because it was “trusted” and convenient for “all our transactions”.

He works in the restaurant and hotel industry and said he has tens of thousands of dollars tied up in Huione’s platform.

“I want the government to give us an answer. What exactly is the situation regarding our money?” said Li. “Does this money still exist or not?”

‘My blood and sweat’

The NBC has said the Huione platforms’ business licences have been revoked, and Huione Pay creditors should go to the courts, while H-Pay creditors can make claims with a liquidator.

The US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) designated Huione Group a “primary money-laundering concern” last year, and prohibited US financial institutions from processing transactions with it.

Beijing has called Huione’s Li “a core member” of the criminal gang of Chen Zhi, another Chinese-born accused scam boss who was operating from Cambodia before being extradited to China this year.

The Southeast Asian nation has emerged as a hub for the illicit industry in recent years, with transnational crime groups initially mostly targeting Chinese speakers before widening their reach and stealing tens of billions of dollars annually from victims around the world.

Cambodian authorities say they are cracking down, detaining and deporting more than 13,000 foreign nationals involved in online scams since early last year.

From January to April, more than 240,000 people, including Chinese, Indonesians, Indians and others, accused of scam involvement “voluntarily departed” Cambodia, the government said last week.

Monitors accused senior Cambodian officials of complicity — allegations the government has denied.

Protesting Cambodian food vendor Sopheak, 42, said she could see her US$36,000 balance on the Huione platform but cannot withdraw any money.

She opened her account three years ago because Chinese customers preferred it, she said.

“The money is my blood and sweat.”

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi called for the complete eradication of scam centres in Cambodia during a meeting with Prime Minister Hun Manet in Phnom Penh, according to Beijing’s foreign ministry.

Cambodia hosts dozens of scam centres with tens of thousands of people perpetrating online scams — some willingly and others trafficked — in a multibillion-dollar illicit industry, rights monitors say.

But under pressure from several countries, including China, Cambodian authorities say they are cracking down on the industry.

“Cross-border gambling and fraud endanger the lives and property of the people and must be resolutely cracked down on and completely eradicated,” Wang told Hun Manet, China’s foreign ministry said in a statement late Wednesday.

See also: Alleged scam boss extradited from Cambodia to China

China and Cambodia maintain close trade, diplomatic and military ties. Wang, who was accompanied by Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun, also underlined the two countries’ “unbreakable bond” during the meeting.

Hun Manet told AFP in February that scam centres were destroying his country’s economy and giving the nation a bad name, vowing to “clean this out”.

He wrote on social media late Wednesday that he, Wang and Dong had discussed promoting cooperation in politics, trade and investment, national defence and security, clean energy, transportation infrastructure construction and agriculture.

Wang and Dong also met Cambodia’s Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and Defence Minister Tea Seiha on Wednesday.

The Chinese foreign minister said he supported initiatives aimed at normalising relations between Cambodia and Thailand following deadly clashes last year along their shared border.

“China is willing to continue to build more platforms for the resumption of exchanges and direct dialogue between Cambodia and Thailand,” Wang said.

While a ceasefire was agreed to in December, the regional situation remains fragile, with Cambodia and Thailand accusing each other of failing to respect the truce.