Australia urged to act after report alleges ‘systemic failures’ in Cambodia scam crackdown

Albania’s government is being urged to use the strong diplomatic and people-to-people ties between Australia and Cambodia to pressure authorities there to shut down fraud hotspots after a scathing report claimed the recent crackdown had been hampered by “systematic failures”.

Cambodian authorities have made only “isolated gains” in cracking down on illegal fraud centres, with operations continuing in many cases and trafficking victims left without support, Amnesty International’s report published on Monday claimed.

The report found that Cambodian authorities had approved at least 16 news businesses that Amnesty International alleged were linked to known fraudulent components, which the human rights organization said were often run by a “transnational, criminal network of groups.”

International and Crisis Leader Andrew Witheford said Australia should use its “significant” diplomatic, economic, development aid and law enforcement links with Cambodia to continue pressuring authorities to shut down fraud centers and prosecute criminals.

“Frankly, the sanctions imposed by the Cambodian authorities are inadequate,” Mr. Witheford said.

“Increased international review, coordination and assistance is needed to improve this response.

“Australia should use its regional diplomatic power through groups such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to encourage a more coordinated regional and international response to the issue.”

Mr Witheford said Australia needed to “step up” existing cooperation with authorities despite shortcomings in local policing.

“The size and magnitude of the problem requires greater international focus and coordination,” he said.

“Australia should also examine how it can assist and support victims by providing funding to rescue shelters and non-governmental organizations working on the issue in Cambodia and encouraging the Cambodian government to appropriately deal with survivors as victims of human trafficking.”

Mr Witheford said Australia’s legal and enforcement regime for modern slavery and human trafficking needed to be strengthened, including sanctions for failing to comply with due diligence obligations and more action to address forced labour.

The report follows the discovery of a fake Australian Federal Police office at an abandoned Sam compound in Cambodia earlier this year.

AFP Deputy Commissioner David McLean told the Senate hearing in January that the agency was not aware at the time that the fake AFP room was “effective at defrauding everyone” but that foreign partners were still investigating the site.

“We are working with the Thais to process a number of materials that they were able to recover from the scene. We’ll see where this goes,” he said.

Mr McLean said AFP spoke to Thai police at the centre.

He noted a “very, very long history of cooperation” with Cambodian authorities, with whom AFP shared “what we know as a result of the action taken.”

In 2024, the AFP’s Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Center (which includes the final regulators and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission) launched Operation Firestorm, focusing on cybercriminals and human trafficking targets in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe.

Earlier this year, an AFP spokesman said AFP officers in Cambodia continued to work with local authorities, including the Cambodian National Police, on scam hubs targeting Australians.

Cambodia urged to do more

In March, the Cambodian government promised to shut down all fraud centers in the country by the end of April.

At that time, the Cambodian government announced that they had targeted 250 locations believed to be carrying out fraudulent activity since July and had closed approximately 80 percent of them, or 200 of them.

But the report found that amid a government crackdown late last year, authorities responded to only 24 of the 86 fraudulent compounds detected.

At seven o’clock, the agency had reported a “mass release or escape” without police intervention at the time.

“This is in stark contrast to the government’s claims that it intervened in more than 250 fraud centres,” the report said.

“While it is likely that the authorities acted with greater sophistication than Amnesty International has been able to verify, the government’s persistent lack of transparency, combined with documented failures during the highly publicized interventions, significantly undermines its own claims to success.”

The report called on Cambodia to prioritize the protection of victims of trafficking who may have been employed in the facilities, review measures and take immediate action, while calling on international partners to continue pushing the Cambodian government to take action.