Background
The General Department of Taxation (GDT) is the national agency responsible for administering tax collection and conducting investigations into tax-related criminal offenses in Cambodia. Anti-money-laundering investigations in Cambodia are coordinated through inter-agency mechanisms that include tax authorities, law enforcement agencies, and financial regulators.
Capacity-building seminars and joint training sessions are used by the GDT to align investigative procedures across implementing institutions and to share operational practices with international partners. The event described below involved national prosecutors, courts, police, financial investigation units, non-bank financial regulators, and international tax-administration representatives.
Key Developments
On 14 September 2026, the GDT organised an intermediate-level seminar on investigating tax crimes, financial crimes and money-laundering at the Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh. The seminar was chaired by His Excellency Kong Vibol in his capacity as Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister and as the government-appointed Director General of the General Department of Taxation. Representatives from the Australian Embassy, including Bridget Collier, Deputy Head of Mission, and Cathrine Purcell, Assistant Commissioner of the Australian Taxation Office, attended the workshop.
Participating Cambodian institutions listed for the seminar included the Ministry of Justice; the national coordinating committee on anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism; the Phnom Penh Appeal Court and its deputy prosecutors; the Phnom Penh Municipal Court and its deputy prosecutors; the National Police Headquarters; the Financial Investigation Unit of Cambodia; the Non-Bank Financial Services Authority; and the Cambodia Commercial Gambling Regulator.
Institutional Role
The workshop served as a forum for operational agencies that partner with the GDT on criminal tax investigations to review investigative techniques and procedural coordination. Attendance by prosecutorial offices and courts indicated a focus on evidence management and case preparation in addition to frontline investigation. Australian tax administration participation signalled a bilateral cooperation element in technical training for investigators.
Operational Implications
Training at an intermediate level indicates emphasis on practical investigative skills, inter-agency case coordination, and the application of existing legal procedures rather than on introductory concepts. Agencies involved may use the shared training content to harmonise investigative practices and improve cross-institutional communication when handling cases that involve both tax offenses and suspected money-laundering.
