Two-thirds of scam compounds 'bypassed' in Cambodia's crackdown, Amnesty finds

The Mango 2 scam compound in Takeo province, which has been turned into an immigration detention centre. (Supplied: Amnesty International) Amnesty International has found that a high-profile crackdown on scams in Cambodia "bypassed" almost two-thirds of the operations the NGO had identified, and failed to protect trafficking victims. The Cambodian government has rejected the report, saying more than 250 operations had been targeted. Experts say while the crackdown has disrupted the industry, the criminal networks were adaptable and resilient. Link copiedShareShare articleCambodia's high-profile crackdown on scam operations this year triggered a mass exodus from compounds around the country. However, a new report by Amnesty International has cast doubt on its impact on the illicit industry with the NGO saying authorities had failed to properly dismantle the "vast majority" of scam sites in the country. It said the government had also failed to identify and support thousands of trafficking survivors subjected to "torture and slavery". "More than 70 per cent of the compounds identified by Amnesty appear to have been bypassed by the crackdown, while ineffective police interventions at other compounds have missed victims and left them facing horrific abuses — all as the government applauds its own work," Amnesty International's co-regional director Montse Ferrer said. The Cambodian government has rejected Amnesty's report, saying the crackdown had targeted more than 250 scam operations and "achieved remarkable results". Most scam operations in South-East Asia feature call-centre-style offices with rows of desks and computers. (Reuters: Roun Ry) Scam operations have proliferated in Cambodia since the COVID pandemic, with estimates putting the annual earnings in the billions per year. The operations are typically overseen by Chinese syndicates and run out of fortified casinos or large specially constructed compounds employing thousands of workers in call-centre-style offices. According to Australia's National Anti-Scam Centre, Australians lost $2.18 billion to scams in 2025. It's unclear how many of those scams originated in Cambodia, however evidence uncovered at a scam centre on the Cambodia—Thai border recently confirmed Australians were among those being targeted. Hundreds of trafficking survivors from Africa are left stranded in Cambodia amid a widespread crackdown on the country's scam compounds. In the past, the Cambodian government has been accused of being complicit in the industry and mounting crackdowns just for show. However, the latest effort that began about a year ago and ramped up in January came amid growing international pressure and reputational damage affecting the critical tourism industry. After vowing in March to eliminate the scam industry by the end of April, Prime Minister Hun Manet last week reiterated his commitment to continue the crackdown. Chhay Sinarith, the senior minister in charge of combating online scams, told Reuters nearly 1,500 suspects from 19 countries had been charged. Nearly 19,000 foreigners had been deported and some 290,000 had voluntarily left, he said. However, Amnesty said of 86 scam sites it had identified, there was evidence of state intervention at only 24 by the end of April. It said there was also evidence of mass releases and escapes at seven more compounds. Andrew Witheford, Amnesty International Australia's strategic campaigner, said the NGO shared its findings and scam compounds' locations with the government at the end of April, but they did not respond. "Even with our assessment noting that the government continues to take action, we have very little evidence to show they intervened at around 60 locations, despite having been aware of these locations, in some cases for many years," he said. Thousands of scam workers were dumped on the streets in January. (AFP: Tang Chhin Sothy) The most visible effect of the crackdown has been a mass exodus of foreign workers, with thousands left stranded and unable to return home. It's been described as a "humanitarian disaster". Many say they were lured to Cambodia with legitimate jobs and subjected to beatings and torture. Amnesty's report said that instead of identifying and supporting these trafficking victims, Cambodian authorities had treated them as "irregular migrants". They were routinely detained in substandard immigration detention facilities without access to lawyers or embassies and charged visa overstay fees, it said. None of the more than 70 survivors interviewed by Amnesty had been identified as a trafficking victim by the government, the report said. Mr Witheford said there was only one government-approved shelter for victims of human trafficking in Cambodia and it was over capacity. "We estimate there are thousands of victims who do not have access to that shelter," he said. He said victims denied shelter had reported becoming unwell and even being raped. "Australia sh

Two-thirds of scam compounds 'bypassed' in Cambodia's crackdown, Amnesty finds

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