Key facts
- Five private security companies are accused of operating scam compounds.
- Thousands were allegedly forced into online fraud, facing violence and abuse.
- Leap Somnang is linked to at least 15 compounds.
- Cambodian authorities claim to have disciplined and prosecuted officials for collusion.
A new Amnesty International report released on Thursday accused five Cambodian security companies of helping operate scam compounds where workers were confined and subjected to violence, torture, and sexual abuse. The report alleges that Cambodian police and military officers served as private security guards in these compounds, enabling forced labor and slavery. The investigation, based on 151 survivor interviews, linked illicit operations to companies like Leap Somnang, which is believed to be controlled by armed forces colonel Ban Sophat, who denied ownership. While Cambodian authorities claim to have cracked down on hundreds of scam centers and disciplined officials, Amnesty asserts that the infrastructure of impunity remains.