Overview
- Amnesty’s June 8 report identified 86 suspected scam compounds in Cambodia and found evidence of state intervention at only 24 of them, with seven more sites showing mass releases or escapes.
- Researchers interviewed 73 people who had been held inside compounds and recorded widespread abuse including forced labour, torture and sexual violence while none of those interviewed had been formally recognised or supported as trafficking victims.
- Survivors described police behaviour that undermined raids, saying officers sometimes warned managers, removed bodies without arresting suspects and allowed operators to move victims to new locations to evade action.
- The Cambodian government rejected Amnesty’s findings and cited arrests, deportations, asset seizures and revoked casino licences, but it has not published detailed evidence to independently verify its claims.
- International partners and rights groups are urging stronger cross‑border law enforcement, independent monitoring and urgent funding for shelters and victim services to prevent re‑trafficking and hold networks to account.