Cambodian police worked as guards at scam sites

Police and military officers in Cambodia served as private security guards at fraud compounds where thousands of people were forced to work, according to a new report. The organization Amnesty International found that these uniformed guards helped maintain a system of forced labor and abuse. Some officers used electric batons to keep victims confined within the buildings.

The investigation combined 151 interviews with survivors, visits to 82 different compounds, and social media videos. These sources allowed Amnesty to connect illegal operations to five private security firms. The group identified more than 20 active members of the military and police who worked openly at these sites.

Agnès Callamard, the group's secretary general, stated that survivors had described meeting uniformed officials inside the compounds for years. She noted that these accounts could not be independently verified until the recent investigation. Callamard said the guards controlled exits, hunted down escapees, and enforced compliance through violence. She added that the system of mass exploitation could not have functioned without their presence.

Survivors reported that guards gave electric shocks, beat people, and held them in dark rooms. Some witnesses said guards stood watch while compound managers raped women. The report, titled Official Business, found that a company called Leap Somnang had the largest footprint in the industry. It was linked to at least 15 compounds across eight provinces, and twelve survivors identified its specific uniforms or logo.

Amnesty alleges that Ban Sophat, a colonel in the armed forces, controlled Leap Somnang while serving as its public chair. The group shared photos showing him with company guards at two different locations. In a letter, Sophat denied holding ownership or management roles. He said he served only as an adviser to the company owner and that appearing in a photo did not mean he knew of the activities there. Leap Somnang did not respond to queries from the rights group.

The United Nations estimates that hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked to the region for these operations. Victims are often lured by promises of office jobs and forced to run online scams, including romance fraud known as pig butchering. Annual losses from these schemes are estimated at $100 billion.

Cambodia began its largest crackdown on these operations in July 2025. Authorities say they have shut down hundreds of centers. The interior ministry told Amnesty it disciplined 77 police officers and detained 17 officials for colluding with criminals. The ministry sent 3,477 suspects to court and cited a policy of no tolerance for the industry.