Cambodia Denies Scam Compounds Despite Skepticism from Rights Groups

Cambodia Asserts Elimination of Scam Compounds Amid Skepticism

PHNOM PENH — Cambodia’s government announced Friday that it has eradicated large-scale online scam operations within its borders, a claim met with skepticism by human rights organizations and independent analysts who question its verifiability.

Senior Minister Chhay Sinarith, head of the government’s ad hoc Commission for Combating Online Scams, told a group of 50 foreign diplomats and international officials on Thursday that “large-scale scam activities have been brought fully under control, and there are currently no online scam compounds remaining in the country.” His statement, released afterward, credited the result to “complete eradication of large-scale online scam operations,” rigorous legal enforcement against perpetrators, and the establishment of a cybersecurity legal framework.

Despite the assertion, the statement acknowledged that criminal networks have dispersed into smaller, decentralized operations, operating from guesthouses, condominiums, rental homes, vehicles, and coffee shops. Authorities said they would continue targeting such activities.

The compounds—often run by Chinese criminal syndicates—have spread across Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, and along the Myanmar-Thailand border since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Reuters has not independently confirmed Cambodia’s claim of elimination.

Amnesty International’s co-regional director, Montse Ferrer, expressed doubt about the effectiveness of the government’s actions. “We are highly skeptical of suggestions the scamming compound industry has been effectively eliminated,” she stated. “The true test of long-term success is not how many compounds have closed, but whether the actors responsible have been investigated, prosecuted, and prevented from resuming operations.”

Independent anti-trafficking consultant Mark Taylor also challenged the government’s assertion. “The strong confidence placed in the government’s claim that all scamming operations in Cambodia have been eradicated is severely misplaced,” he said. “There are credible indicators that significant scamming operations continue, and that recruitment of foreign workers into Cambodia for scamming work continues.”

According to Chhay Sinarith, between July 2025 and August 20, 2026, authorities investigated 793 suspected locations and raided 624 sites, detaining nearly 30,000 suspects from 39 nationalities. Additionally, 58,266 foreign nationals were rescued and deported, while 3,477 suspects from 29 nationalities were arrested and jailed pending trial.

The rapid rise of cyber-scam compounds in Southeast Asia has drawn international concern due to reports of forced labor, torture, and human trafficking within these facilities. While Cambodia’s government maintains it has dismantled the infrastructure of large-scale scamming, critics argue that the dispersed nature of operations makes full eradication difficult to verify and sustain.