Brazil and Cambodia sign memorandum to combat human trafficking and electronic scams

Brazil and Cambodia have drawn up a memorandum of understanding to combat international human trafficking and electronic scams, according to the Asian country's Minister of Information, Neth Pheaktra. The agreement, according to the authority, is made to formalize cooperation between the Federal Police and the National Police of the Asian country.

"Cambodia and Brazil already have active cooperation in electronic scams, human trafficking and other forms of transnational crime", he tells Folha.

In Brazil, the process is being processed by the international affairs department of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. The ministry stated that it does not comment on ongoing processes. The Federal Police, in turn, directed the request for comments to the ministry.

A document published by the department points out that memorandums of understanding signed between the corporation and institutions from other countries aim to cooperate to combat organized crime and maintain internal security. These instruments do not imply a transfer of resources and can be terminated at any time by either party, according to the Court.

Ministry data shows that Cambodia will become the main destination for victims of human trafficking in Brazil in 2025, with 44 of the 84 cases registered in the year.

Victims are lured to the Asian country through false promises of employment that offer high pay, accommodation, food and plane tickets, but, upon arriving there, people have their passports withheld and are forced to work exhausting hours carrying out electronic scams.

Many of the victims also experience episodes of torture, which involve beatings, shocks, food deprivation and sexual harassment.

Cambodia is one of the countries known to be a destination for victims of human trafficking. The country is now experiencing the greatest escalation of repression against so-called scam complexes, places where victims are kept in deprivation of liberty to carry out fraud.

According to the Cambodian minister, the Asian country and Brazil have cooperation that "has already produced practical coordination, including joint efforts against online scam crimes, the repatriation of Brazilian citizens and cases involving detained Brazilians."

Pheaktra states that the Brazilian ambassador to the country, Vivian Sanmartin, and the deputy prime minister and minister of the Interior, Sar Sokha, met in August to discuss cooperation against electronic scams and human trafficking, when the Itamaraty representative congratulated the authority on the results of the Cambodian repression.

Itamaraty states that combating human trafficking has been a priority for Brazil's foreign policy and that the issue was addressed, for example, during Chancellor Mauro Vieira's visit to Thailand in September.

"The topic is frequently discussed in diplomatic contacts with authorities in countries where there is a record of the presence of trafficking networks that attract Brazilians", he says in a note.

According to the Cambodian minister, from July 2025 to the same month in 2026, the offensive resulted in the investigation of 751 addresses linked to complexes and the closure of 605. At least 21,600 foreigners of 38 nationalities were rescued and had their repatriation processed, and 388 cases involving electronic scams are in court.