<figure id="attachment_409791" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1477px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-409791"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="df6ab1d8"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/01/08b8e739efe4b5c6b38d594acfa9abd7.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-409791" class="wp-caption-text">In Cambodia, there are people living in abandoned buildings.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Cambodia is full of Japanese yakuza</h2>
In Cambodia, crimes committed by Japanese nationals have been rapidly increasing. In the first part of this investigation, I explored the port city of Sihanoukville, where criminal groups have set up operations, focusing on hotels and derelict buildings that might be breeding grounds for crime.
<a href="https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/article/409760"> Part 1: Development has failed and the town is full of ruins. On-site reportage reveals that Cambodia has become a breeding ground for crime!　Cambodia has become a &#8220;Criminal &#8216;s Paradise&#8221;</a>
&#8220;I used to be a Japanese restaurant, but because of the boss (the manager), we were forced to close once,&#8221; a security guard commented while observing a Nepalese restaurant in Phnom Penh. This restaurant was reportedly delivering bento meals, including sushi, sashimi, and tempura, to a Japanese special fraud group in September 2023.
&#8220;The fraud group operated out of an apartment in Phnom Penh. They had bento delivered three times a day, 50 pieces each time. The manager had tattoos, and I thought, &#8216;Maybe he&#8217;s connected to the Japanese Yakuza.&#8217; There were rumors that the manager had connections with Yakuza groups that came from Japan. Considering that the restaurant closed around the same time the fraud group was busted, those rumors might have been true,&#8221; the guard added.
As I prepared to leave, the security guard continued:
&#8220;There are many &#8216;Japanese Yakuza&#8217; who fled to Cambodia. I don&#8217;t want to get too involved, so I won&#8217;t say much, but these bad people are working together on criminal activities. Cambodia has a strong network. Japanese people are supposed to be rich, so why do they commit crimes in Cambodia?&#8221;
Why have Japanese fraud groups chosen Cambodia as their base? The answer seems to lie in the guard&#8217;s question.
&#8220;As crackdowns in Japan have become stricter, China, Thailand, and the Philippines were previously used as overseas bases. But due to increased crackdowns there, they’ve come to Cambodia. Cambodia shares a border with China, making it easier for criminal organizations to infiltrate. Japanese groups have paid Chinese mafias to arrange things like mobile phones and apartments,&#8221; said a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police&#8217;s Public Safety Bureau.
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="It is easy to obtain a visa and open a bank account..."></div>
<figure id="attachment_409794" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2364px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-409794"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="001d71e1"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/01/adb1cdcf3328c5af9df75cd9b8ecc6ac.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-409794" class="wp-caption-text">The bank where the author attempted to open an account.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Backdoor for opening a bank account</h2>
Infrastructure is easier to establish, and even Japanese people can easily obtain visas and open bank accounts. The ease with which bribes work on authorities is also a reason why Cambodia is favored, as mentioned by a police official from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.
&#8220;Once the procedures are completed on the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs&#8217; official website, it is possible to obtain a tourist visa and others within a few days. To open a bank account at a major bank, a general visa with more than six months validity is usually required. However, if you obtain a job-seeker visa for employment in Cambodia and its validity is more than six months, you can open an account. In other words, even foreigners can easily open an account,&#8221; said a visa processing agent.
The author also visited a branch of a major bank in Cambodia to attempt to open an account. Although the visa&#8217;s validity was insufficient and the account could not be opened, the employee, likely the branch manager, offered, &#8220;I&#8217;ll give you my Telegram; next time you come, contact me personally.&#8221; Telegram is a highly secure messaging app, and the suggestion of a backdoor raised significant suspicion.
While waiting at the counter to open an account, the author overheard a group of Japanese men in their 20s and 30s. One of the men, who appeared to be a dealer, was passionately telling the group, &#8220;Japanese yen is weak and useless, so you should definitely deposit in dollars in Cambodia.&#8221; The author&#8217;s suspicion grew, wondering if they might be trying to set up overseas accounts to launder dubious money.
Currently, due to the low trust in Cambodia&#8217;s national currency, the riel, the dollar is the primary circulating currency. Small purchases are made in riel, while larger ones are made in dollars. It is not uncommon to withdraw only in dollars at ATMs. The ease with which foreigners can open dollar accounts is tied to this situation.
In recent years, with the rapid influx of Chinese capital, the Chinese currency, the yuan, has also begun to circulate in tourist areas, and the use of yuan for transactions is expected to increase. The situation is only becoming more chaotic — for the time being, Cambodia will likely remain a paradise for criminals.

 Eiya Takeya (freelance journalist)

 Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, is described as a "criminal paradise. His reportage reveals that Cambodia's national infrastructure is too fragile.

 In recent years, Cambodia has seen a sharp increase in special scams perpetrated by Japanese nationals. Freelance journalist Eiya Takeya takes a closer look behind the scenes.

Japan’s Backdoor Bank Accounts in Cambodia is A Criminal Haven

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