Thousands estimated to have fled or been freed from Cambodia scam compounds

Thousands of people, including suspected victims of human trafficking, are estimated to have been released or escaped from scam compounds across Cambodia over recent days, amid growing international pressure to crack down on the multibillion-dollar industry. The Indonesian embassy in Phnom Penh said it had received reports from 1,440 of its nationals who had been released from scam centres, and large queues of Chinese nationals were seen outside the Chinese embassy.

Amnesty International said it had geolocated 15 videos and images and reviewed social media posts that appear to show escape attempts and releases at least 10 scamming compounds, and estimated the total number released to be in the thousands. Amnesty’s regional research director Montse Ferrer said it is hard to determine what role the police are playing: in some videos police are visible, while in others they cannot be seen.

Ferrer warned of a lack of support for those released, saying some people have been seen "walking around in search of assistance" while others reached safe houses, and that without support there is a risk of people being moved to new scamming locations as has happened after previous releases.

The UN estimates about 100,000 people work inside such compounds in Cambodia, many duped into accepting jobs and then held to carry out online scams including romance-investment scams and crypto fraud.

Key Topics

World, Cambodia, Online Scam Industry, Chen Zhi, Prince Group, Amnesty International