The Thai Cambodia War Isn’t About Borders — It’s About China

Looks like things are going great between Thailand and Cambodia. And guess what? China's behind it all. Welcome to China Uncensored. I'm Chris Chapel. Christmas is just around the corner. In case you forgot, because you're in a soundproof bunker to drown out the sounds of Mariah Carey, it's this week. So, fret not. It's not too late to buy gifts not made in China. Pick up a copy of my Unmade in China Christmas shopping catalog full of goodies made right here in the US of A. link is below. So, Thailand and Cambodia are once again in a shooting war despite Trump's efforts to negotiate a ceasefire because he loves peace. Assuming you're not Venezuelan, territorial disputes that sparked earlier this summer have led both sides to exchange fire using artillery and missiles, fighter jets, tanks, drones, small arms, and more. Of course, you know what that means? more social media content because when we live in interesting times, we got to make sure the world knows about it. >> What's the point of dying for your country if you can't get some likes from it? But while the world's getting caught up on the territorial dispute, there's far more to this conflict than meets the eye. And that's China. >> And no, I'm not just saying that because I run a China focused channel and I'm also slave to the unquenchable content creation machine. China seriously is involved in this in so so many ways. This is more than just about China providing training and weapons for both sides of the war. I'm talking about how China has so thoroughly corrupted both countries that we can't understand the relationship between Thailand and Cambodia without seeing China's involvement. It has to do with Cambodian scam centers which have gained notoriety worldwide these days. As soon as I said scam, some of you immediately thought, "Oh, I see how China might be involved now." Didn't you? They're major hubs for China linked gambling, drugs, and human trafficking operations. And they've become targets in the Thai Cambodian border war. Thailand struck multiple Cambodian casinos and hotels that allegedly operate scams, including one that the US Treasury Department sanctioned last year for human trafficking and forced labor. So, why is Thailand targeting scam centers and casinos? On the surface, it's because they're allegedly being used as bases for launching attacks in military logistics. Man, so they have to trick people with phone scams and commit war crimes. Are they trying to win whatever the opposite of a Nobel Peace Prize is? Well, so anyways, this is what Thai officials say, but Cambodian officials deny it. But there's another possible explanation for this. According to former Wall Street Journal reporter Tom Wright, the attacks on Cambodia's scam centers could be the Thai elitees way of distancing itself from the scam industry. It's kind of like Subway attacking McDonald's and Burger King to try and seem like the healthier option, even though their meatball marinara has more calories and their mascot is in prison. Let me explain. As it turns out, the Thai elite are heavily tied to Cambodian scam operations, which in turn are heavily tied to Chinese criminal syndicates. And this has major repercussions for the entire world. To explain how, we got to follow the story of a South African man named Benjamin Mauberger. Now, I bet you're thinking, "Wait, we're talking about Thailand and Cambodia, and now you're bringing in China and South Africans? What's going on here?" Well, this tale is more tangled than your Christmas lights will be in about 3 weeks. But hear me out. Benjamin Mauberger, who also goes by numerous aliases, including Ben Smith and Ben Burgerer, is a businessman who first garnered public attention back in the early 2000s when New Zealand authorities suspected that he ran Bangkokbased boiler rooms that scammed investors with dubious share deals. my least favorite kind of share deals just ahead of questionable and preposterous. Afterwards, he disappeared into Thailand and tried to do various criminal odd jobs before setting his eyes on Cambodia. And it's from here that things get really interesting. Mauberger's major breakthrough as a criminal mastermind happened when he rubbed shoulders with a powerful Cambodian businessman named Yim Leak. Yim is a super elite whose father was a deputy prime minister and whose sister married into the influential Hun family which controls the ruling Cambodian People's Party which it keeps in power by resorting to all sorts of shady and outright illegal things including scam centers. Malberger managed to become so influential that he got a Cambodian diplomatic passport and a position to work as an adviser to Cambodia's Senate who at best either don't look at resumes or saw his and thought you're our kind of grifter. And it's here that Mauberger fostered close ties with the Chinese. Both Mauberger and Yim league managed to get sweetheart land deals in Cambodia that became casinos that acted as fronts for washing dirty Chinese money. Then they meet a Chinese businessman with CCP ties named Dungping. He's the owner of Jung Hung Group. That'll be important later for shadowing. Now Mauber and Ye created a company called Bick Bank. Not to be confused with the pens. You leave that ballpoint headed mascot out of this. In partnership with Dung, they tapped into Chinese infrastructure investment money in Cambodia, which in practice fueled criminal Chinese casino schemes and then Chinese scam centers. With that in mind, it's no surprise that the UK sanctioned the Jung-H group in 2023 for reportedly holding workers against their will to work as scammers. Because why just be a scammer when you can also be a slaver? Thailand's got some competition on winning whatever the opposite of a Nobel Peace Prize is. Not that this bothered Cambodian elites, nor Thai elites. In fact, so many in Thailand have profited off Chinese Cambodian scam proceeds. That's one of the few things Thailand and Cambodia agree on. Among them are three Thai prime ministers. The Thai deputy minister of finance, the Thai tourism permanent secretary, the Thai police general, a senior Thai finance ministry official, and Thailand's deputy prime minister. If it got any higher up, you'd suffer from oxygen deprivation. These people allegedly helped protect the sophisticated moneyaundering network that Mauburgger created. a network that pumps and washes top dollars from Cambodian and Chinese elites to Thailand's economy via Singapore-based funds and Thai shell companies. Some of this money went into stakes in Thai finance company Basia XPCL which served as a means for the Chinese crypto exchange KCoin to act as a bridge between scam proceeds in crypto and quick and easy cash in Thai banks. You knew we wouldn't be able to do a deep dive into a massive scam without crypto being involved. Weirdly, back in 2024, the US charged KCoin for facilitating over $9 billion in money laundering. Imagine that. Meanwhile, Thailand's Ministry of Digital Economy and Society gave Mauberger the power to shape government policy, including the power to deploy 500 IT specialists in Thailand. Who would allow a foreigner, much less a criminal like Mauburgger, to have that kind of power? I already told you people that either don't look at resumes or saw his and thought, "You're our kind of grifter." This is more than just elite capture. It's national capture of both Cambodia and Thailand done with the power and money of powerful Chinese criminals, including those with ties to the CCP. The US is well aware of Mauberger and his role as a central piece in Chinese crime and influence. In fact, it's been paying attention to him ever since he started buying tons of expensive property in Thailand. The US is especially concerned with how Mauburgger is contributing to the loss of billions in fraud and the exploitation of children. That Subway mascot analogy was more appropriate than you realized. On top of that, there's growing international pressure to crack down on online scam centers, especially after the US seized billions in crypto earlier this year, filed indictments on shady businesses, and even namerop Mauburger and Yim leak in a sanctions bill. They're all over him like white on rice. White rice specifically. You have to clarify because saying that about brown rice doesn't work. This definitely must be spooking Mauberger, which could explain why Mauberger reportedly fled to Dubai, a popular spot where organized criminals go to avoid extradition. This is also likely spooking Thailand. Not just because of how it affects Thailand's international image, but also because of how normal Thai feel about the issue. At a time when tensions with Cambodia are high, Thai elites really don't want ordinary people to think that their leaders are bought off by Cambodian money. with scam money, no less. Thai elites can't afford to look like they're bending over for Cambodia, which is hard since they're so bent over, they look like they're working on their downward dog position. Like Thailand's former prime minister, who in elite call with Cambodian elite, Hunen addressed the Cambodian leader as uncle and referred to a Thai military commander as her opponent while she was trying to calm the border crisis earlier this summer. Yes, she literally called who was supposed to be the enemy UNK. It's one thing to betray your country, but using Gen Z slang, that's unforgivable. So when the Thai government bombs scam centers in Cambodia, issues arrest warrants for Cambodian elites, seizes more than $300 million in assets connected to Mauburgger, and calls out elite big names for taking bribes, though without mentioning prime ministers, police generals, or bureaucrats. It makes sense. The Thai elites are desperately trying to signal to the world that they're not involved with the Cambodian scam centers. And they certainly aren't involved with the Chinese criminal syndicates that make those scam centers possible. Even though they're more omniresent in them than Mariah Carey is in Christmas, which is just days away. So click here to buy my Unmade in China Christmas shopping catalog so you don't end up supporting China's military. The link is below. Once again, I'm Chris Chapel. See you next time.