{"id":6680,"date":"2026-06-08T10:21:03","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T03:21:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/?p=6680"},"modified":"2026-06-08T10:21:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T03:21:04","slug":"cambodia-evidence-suggests-scamming-compounds-bypassed-despite-high-profile-crackdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/news\/2026\/06\/cambodia-evidence-suggests-scamming-compounds-bypassed-despite-high-profile-crackdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Cambodia: Evidence suggests scamming compounds bypassed despite high-profile \u2018crackdown\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Amnesty research contradicts state narrative on mass scamming crackdown<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Collusion between police and gangs help compounds avoid raids<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>73 survivors interviewed; none screened or recognized as victims of trafficking<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The Cambodian government\u2019s high-profile crackdown on scamming compounds has failed to dismantle the vast majority of sites in the country or protect and support thousands of people subjected to human trafficking, torture and slavery, Amnesty International said in a new report released today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Falling Through the Cracks: Cambodia\u2019s \u201cCrackdown\u201d on Scamming Compounds<\/em>&nbsp;documents how authorities have largely failed to identify trafficking victims or hold perpetrators to account. Amnesty\u2019s research reveals how several compounds are moving location to escape the crackdown and details multiple accounts of rape inside compounds.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Cambodian government has carefully managed the optics of its scamming crackdown, but behind every headline about a compound raid or arrest are survivors of slavery, torture and rape left with almost no support,\u201d Amnesty International\u2019s Co-Regional Director Montse Ferrer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis much-vaunted crime offensive has not done enough to end the suffering of those trapped inside scamming compounds. 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 \u2013 all as the government applauds its own work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-police-came-to-remove-dead-bodies\"><strong>Police \u2018came to remove dead bodies\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In June 2025, an\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2025\/06\/cambodia-government-allows-slavery-torture-flourish-inside-scamming-compounds\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Amnesty International report<\/a>\u202ffound that more than 50 scamming compounds across Cambodia were sites of widespread slavery, human trafficking, forced&nbsp;labour and torture,&nbsp;operating&nbsp;as prison-like facilities controlled by organized criminal groups.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new 150-page research released today identifies an additional 33 scamming compounds and includes testimony from a further 73 survivors, from 16 countries, who had been held in compounds during the crackdown. All describe the same patterns of abuse documented in Amnesty\u2019s previous report.<\/p>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"blockquote is-lined\"><p>The Cambodian government\u2019s total lack of transparency makes it impossible to verify their claims and undermines trust in the entire process.<\/p>\n<cite>Montse Ferrer, Amnesty International\u2019s Co-Regional Director<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<p>Following Amnesty\u2019s report, in July 2025 Cambodia launched its largest-ever crackdown on scam operations, pledging to wipe out the criminal networks responsible for large-scale fraud of victims around the world. Several high-profile gang leaders have since been arrested and authorities claim to have shut down more than 200 scam centres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, Amnesty International\u2019s findings cast serious doubt on the crackdown\u2019s impact. Of a total 86 compounds identified by Amnesty International, there was evidence of state intervention at only 24. Amnesty International obtained evidence of mass releases and escapes at an additional seven compounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even when interventions did occur, Amnesty found that they were often ineffective, undermined by apparent collusion between compound managers and police, or only carried out in reaction to some form of public pressure. In three separate instances, police intervened at a compound but Amnesty International interviewed victims abused at those locations afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-victims-treated-as-criminals\"><strong>Victims treated as criminals<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Survivors interviewed in Amnesty\u2019s report came from across the world, including Africa, Latin America and Asia, highlighting the transnational nature of the scam industry. One survivor Winta, who was trafficked from East Africa when she was 16 years old after being offered a fictitious job on a cruise ship, described being moved between compounds during the crackdown to evade police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey handcuffed me to a chair and made me stand for two days. Then they beat us and put us in the car,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She was eventually abandoned at night alongside other victims. When police arrived, she said they threatened to return her to the compound rather than offer help. Left with nowhere to go, she turned to local Cambodians who helped her escape the area. Her story reflects a recurring pattern where Cambodia\u2019s authorities have failed to dismantle scam operations while also pushing survivors deeper into danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>None of the 73 survivors Amnesty International interviewed had been recognized as a victim of human trafficking despite Amnesty assessing that they all met the internationally recognized definition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many people who were freed or had escaped from compounds were instead left sleeping on the streets or detained in overcrowded immigration centres, while in some cases police extorted victims of human trafficking and threatened them. Meanwhile, survivors received inadequate assistance from their own embassies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-we-tried-to-wake-her-but-she-was-dead-already\"><strong>\u2018We tried to wake her, but she was dead already\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The report findings suggest that collusion between police and compound managers has undermined the effectiveness of the crackdown. Multiple survivors told Amnesty that police regularly came to a compound in Prey Veng (PV01), including to remove bodies and drink coffee with managers, yet not a single arrest was made during the crackdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Elise, a young woman from Kenya, said she was beaten and saw a woman die at the PV01 compound. \u201cWe tried to wake her, but she was dead already \u2026 The police came to get the body,\u201d she said, adding that police did not free the other people trapped inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Testimony from survivors indicates managers were sometimes aware of police interventions before they happened and were able to flee and move to another location, suggesting coordination or collusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey said the police are coming and put us on a bus and drove us into the mountains,\u201d one survivor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amnesty\u2019s latest testimony also includes several accounts of sexual violence inside compounds, with six women describing being subjected to rape and other ill-treatment. Five said they were raped by managers or team leaders \u2013 two becoming pregnant as a result \u2013 while one woman from Brazil, Cecilia, said a manager invited a group of successful scammers to rape her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was like a prize for doing good work. He said I was like \u2018a present\u2019,\u201d she said. Cecilia showed extensive bruises on her body she said were caused by a baseball bat wielded by a manager after he found out that Cecilia\u2019s father was contacting police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-lack-of-transparency\"><strong>Lack of transparency<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite lauding the success of the crackdown, the Cambodian authorities have failed to make public detailed information about which sites were investigated or evidence supporting their claims of closures. The government has not responded to questions sent by Amnesty International in relation to its investigation. At the same time, journalists and rescue workers have faced arrests and intimidation, further limiting independent scrutiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Cambodian government\u2019s total lack of transparency makes it impossible to verify their claims and undermines trust in the entire process. The unavoidable conclusion is that many of the people behind the most abusive compounds have not been brought to justice,\u201d Montse Ferrer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhile the crackdown has led to mass releases of thousands of people from slavery, it is undermined by the government\u2019s failure to treat victims with dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2026\/04\/cambodia-casinos-get-state-approval-despite-links-to-human-rights-abuse-at-scamming-compounds\/\">Amnesty International investigation in April&nbsp;<\/a>found that a dozen casinos linked to scam compounds have received state approval despite the ongoing crackdown. Amnesty\u2019s new report identified four more casinos that had submitted plans showing they owned buildings that were scamming compounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf the Cambodian government is serious about ending slavery and torture in the scam industry, it must investigate all compounds and related casinos, properly identify and assist all victims of human trafficking and other serious human rights abuses, and address the failures that have prevented this crackdown from being successful,\u201d Montse Ferrer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe international community can also do more. Pressure from other world leaders was likely a primary driver in the Cambodian government initiating this crackdown, but our findings show that the task is nowhere near complete and that pressure must be redoubled, while more funding is needed to support survivors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-background\"><strong>Background<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Amnesty interviewed 73 scamming compound survivors from Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Morocco, Niger, Uganda and Venezuela between July 2025 and April 2026 for this report.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under international law, Cambodia must identify trafficking victims and ensure their safety. 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Falling Through the Cracks: Cambodia\u2019s \u201cCrackdown\u201d on Scamming Compounds&nbsp;documents how authorities have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6681,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":0,"_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":0,"_hero_title":"","_hero_content":"","_hero_cta_text":"","_hero_cta_link":"","_hero_alignment":"","_hero_background":"","_hero_size":"","_hero_show":"","_hero_type":"","_hero_embed":"","_hero_video_id":0,"_hero_hide_image_caption":true,"_hero_hide_image_copyright":false,"_nav_style":"","_disable_share_icons":false,"_disable_sidebar":false,"_display_author_info":false,"_hide_featured_image":false,"_hide_featured_image_caption":true,"_maximize_post_content":false,"_reduce_content_width":false,"_sidebar_id":0,"_stretch_thumbnail":false,"byline_context":"","byline_entity":"","byline_is_author":false,"disable_related_content":false,"download_id":0,"download_text":"","show_published_date":true,"show_updated_date":true,"term_slider":"","amnesty_index_number":"","recipients":"","recipients_refresh":"","recipients_refreshed":"","amnesty_umbraco_data":"","document_ref":"","amnesty_updated":"","footnotes":""},"category":[1585],"location":[1588],"resourceType":[],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-6680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","location-southeast-asia"],"datePosted":"June 8, 2026","mlpRelationships":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category?post=6680"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=6680"},{"taxonomy":"resource-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resourceType?post=6680"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=6680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}