Overview
- Amnesty International says thousands have fled or been released from at least 17 scamming compounds in recent weeks, with many now stuck in Phnom Penh without passports, money or medical care.
- Researchers interviewed 35 survivors who left within the past six weeks, including at least 11 in the past week, documenting sexual assaults, pregnancies from rape, torture, mutilations and deaths.
- Several survivors described guards beating those trying to leave, others found compounds abandoned by managers, and one witness reported a killing after an escape attempt.
- Survivors reported little or no protective presence from authorities, with some saying police visited compounds to remove bodies but did not act against managers.
- Amnesty urges urgent humanitarian aid, documentation restoration and repatriation, noting the operations are part of transnational fraud networks under growing scrutiny, including recent actions targeting Chen Zhi and U.S. charges with major crypto forfeiture efforts.