A Cambodian casino complex has been unmasked as the centre of a vast online fraud operation, complete with a fake Australian Federal Police office, counterfeit bank branches and sound stages designed to dupe victims worldwide.

The abandoned resort in O’Smach, near the Thai border, was seized by Thai forces last year. What they found inside shocked investigators: rows of bunks for captive workers, racks of police uniforms from multiple nations, and rooms fitted out to resemble official offices. According to Lieutenant General Teeranan Nandhakwang of the Royal Thai Army, the site was “a criminal base against humanity”.

The scam centre was part of a sprawling industry estimated by the United Nations to siphon off up to $70 billion annually. Victims were targeted through elaborate scripts, deepfake videos and AI‑manipulated calls. Workers, many trafficked or trapped in debt bondage, were forced to spend 15‑hour shifts impersonating officials or romantic partners to extort money.

Evidence gathered from the compound included thousands of pages of manuals, personal data profiles and chat logs. Captives were fined for failing to meet quotas, chatting with colleagues or even being late to bed. Escape attempts were met with beatings, torture and threats of resale to other gangs.

The operation’s sophistication extended to staged offices for Brazil, China and Australia, designed to convince victims they were dealing with legitimate authorities. “They are well‑organised. They have good infrastructure and systems, and also the workflow and many, many tactics and techniques to do the scams,” Lt. Gen. Nandhakwang said.

The scandal has drawn international attention. Amnesty International reports thousands of foreign nationals remain trapped in Cambodian cities, with embassies overwhelmed by pleas for help. Some escapees have been flown home in chains, suspected of complicity.

At the centre of the network was Chinese businessman Chen Zhi, founder of Prince Group, arrested and deported to Beijing last month. Investigators say his empire of real estate, banking and tourism masked a cryptocurrency‑fuelled laundering operation. Chinese authorities seized $15 billion in digital assets and have since executed 11 convicted scam‑centre guards in Myanmar.

The revelations highlight the global scale of online fraud and the human cost behind it. For the victims, the deception was digital. For the workers inside O’Smach, it was all too real.

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-2026-02-05

And Cambodian authorities have never done anything about it. Does the leader of the country know anything about it?

Don't go to Vietnam. It is worse.