Cambodia’s claim to have ended scam compounds met with scepticism

Cambodia’s assertion of eradicating its scam compounds met with scepticism from Amnesty International and manufacture experts.

Cambodia says it nary longer hosts immoderate of the scam compounds that made the state a planetary hub for cybercrime, arsenic rights groups and analysts cautioned that the assertion cannot beryllium independently verified.

According to a connection released connected Friday, Senior Minister Chhay Sinarith, who heads the government’s advertisement hoc Commission for Combating Online Scams, told 50 overseas diplomats and planetary officials connected Thursday that “large-scale scam activities person been brought afloat nether control, and determination are presently nary online scam compounds remaining successful the country”.

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The connection said the accomplishment follows “the implicit eradication of large-scale online scam operations, strict ineligible actions against perpetrators, networks and progressive officials, alongside the systematic constitution of a cybersecurity ineligible framework”.

However, the connection acknowledged that transgression groups person shifted to decentralised operations – hiding successful guesthouses, condominiums, rental houses, vehicles and java shops – which authorities said they volition proceed to target.

The compounds, mostly tally by Chinese transgression syndicates, person proliferated crossed Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines and Myanmar-Thai borderline areas since the pandemic. Reuters quality bureau said it has not independently confirmed the eradication claim.

Amnesty International’s co-regional director, Montse Ferrer, said the rights radical is “highly skeptical of suggestions the scamming compound manufacture has been efficaciously eliminated”, adding: “The existent trial of semipermanent occurrence is not however galore compounds person closed, but whether the actors liable person been investigated, prosecuted and prevented from resuming operations.”

Mark Taylor, an autarkic anti-trafficking consultant, said: “The beardown assurance placed successful the [Cambodian] government’s assertion that each scamming operations successful Cambodia person been eradicated is severely misplaced.

“There are credible indicators that important scamming operations proceed and that recruitment of overseas workers into Cambodia for scamming enactment continues.”

Chhay Sinarith, the elder minister, said instrumentality enforcement investigated 793 suspected locations and raided 624 sites between July 2025 and August 20, 2026, detaining astir 30,000 suspects representing 39 nationalities.

Authorities rescued and deported 58,266 overseas nationals, portion 3,477 suspects from 29 nationalities were arrested and jailed pending trial, helium added.