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, after 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, while large queues of Chinese nationals were also 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 across Cambodia.
Jacob Sims, visiting fellow at Harvard University’s Asia Center, described the recent releases as unprecedented in Cambodia.
“It is extremely clear that this is all being precipitated by escalating international pressure, which has been mounting for years, but really started exponentially increasing with the historic UK and US October 14 action against Chen Zhi.”
Chen Zhi, a Chinese-born Cambodian tycoon, was sanctioned by the UK and the US in October last year, with the US accusing him of operating a “transnational criminal empire through online investment scams targeting Americans and others worldwide”. Sims, who is also a senior adviser on transnational crime at Inca Digital, said that while the latest releases are promising, the problem will simply re-emerge if international pressure is not maintained.