Cambodia claims scam compound eradication, meets skepticism

Cambodia announced on Friday that it has eradicated all large-scale online scam compounds within its borders, a claim met with immediate skepticism from human rights organizations and independent analysts who question whether the industry has truly been dismantled. The government's Ad Hoc Commission for Combating Online Scams presented the assertion at a meeting with foreign diplomats on Thursday, stating that "largescale scam activities have been brought fully under control." According to a government statement released on Friday, Senior Minister Chhay Sinarith, who heads the commission, detailed a crackdown conducted between July 2025 and August 20, 2026. Authorities investigated 793 suspected locations and raided 624 sites, detaining nearly 30,000 suspects from 39 nationalities. The operation resulted in the rescue and deportation of 58,266 foreign nationals, while 3,477 suspects from 29 countries were arrested and placed in pretrial detention. The statement also noted that 15 high-ranking officials and law enforcement officers were among those arrested.