Key facts
- Dozens of suspected global scam compounds in Cambodia are still operating, Amnesty International reported.
- Authorities have intervened at only 24 of 86 identified scam centres, according to the report.
- Amnesty cited reactive interventions, ineffectiveness, and alleged collusion between compound managers and police.
- Cambodia's government rejected Amnesty's findings, calling the report selective and one-sided.
- Southeast Asia has become an epicentre for the global cyberfraud industry, with compounds often run by Chinese criminal gangs.
- Amnesty interviewed 73 individuals held against their will, who reported experiencing or witnessing abuse, including rape.
Dozens of suspected global scam compounds in Cambodia continue to operate despite ongoing crackdowns by authorities, according to a report released by Amnesty International. The human rights organization stated that out of 86 identified scam centres, the Cambodian government had only intervened at 24 locations. Amnesty's report, which is 176 pages long, detailed that many of these interventions were reactive, ineffective, or compromised by alleged collusion between compound managers and police, with survivors reporting being moved to evade authorities.
The Cambodian government has rejected Amnesty's findings. Chhay Sinarith, the senior minister responsible for combating online scams, issued a statement asserting that Cambodia does not accept the implication of failing to act and called the report "selective, one-sided, and lacking full understanding of the realities on the ground." He further argued that the report overlooks the scale and continuity of nationwide enforcement efforts, including police operations, arrests, asset seizures, and the dismantling of criminal compounds.
Southeast Asia has become a major hub for the global cyberfraud industry. Since the pandemic, compounds housing tens of thousands of workers, many of whom are trafficked and endure brutal conditions, have proliferated across Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, and border areas of Myanmar. Reuters has not independently verified all allegations from either Amnesty or the government, but journalists visiting abandoned or seized centres have found evidence of abuse and large-scale fraud that has defrauded victims worldwide.
The Cambodian government acknowledged the difficulty in tackling these transnational and adaptive criminal networks. Foreign governments, including the United States, have pressured Cambodia to crack down, with estimates suggesting Americans lost $10 billion to Southeast Asian scam centres in 2024 alone. Amnesty International reported interviewing 73 individuals who were held against their will, with all reporting abuse, including six women who described being raped. The group also criticized authorities for treating escapees as irregular migrants rather than victims of human trafficking.
According to Chhay Sinarith, Cambodia has revoked licenses of 25 casinos suspected of involvement in scams and charged nearly 1,500 suspects from 19 countries. Additionally, approximately 19,000 foreigners have been deported, and about 290,000 have voluntarily left the country.