Wandering down the unlit corridors of a six-storey building behind the Royal Hill casino in Cambodia reveals a shocking scene. Each door opens onto a different world, from a perfect replica of a Vietnamese bank to an Australian police station, complete with a Chinese police officer's shirt hanging in the corner. Motivational quotes decorate the walls, proclaiming, Money Coming From Everywhere, while fake hundred dollar bills litter the floor.
This site, located in the border town of O Smach, served as a massive scam compound where thousands of people from diverse backgrounds were compelled to defraud unsuspecting victims globally.
In December, amid a brief border conflict, the Royal Hill was bombed by the Thai air force, which claimed Cambodian drones had launched from the casino. Following the bombardment, workers fled, leaving behind personal items and uneaten meals.
Now, as Thai soldiers patrol the crumbling remains of the building, the Cambodian government is under pressure to address the rampant exploitation in its casinos and strengthen its territorial integrity.
The Royal Hill compound illustrated a troubling aspect of Cambodia's emergence as a hub for sham operations. With massive profits at stake, foreign crime syndicates exploited the region, taking advantage of illegal logging and a boom in Chinese investment in casinos, despite rising criticism from the international community.
These scam operations thrived as workers were misled with false job promises. Documents unearthed from the rubble showed grim punishments for those who failed to meet daily targets. Interviews with former workers reveal that various forms of abuse, including physical punishment and confinement, were commonplace.
Yet, despite recent police actions to shut down scam compounds, skepticism remains. The government has faced criticism for its lack of substantial action against high-profile owners linked to scams, while thousands of workers’ futures remain uncertain amid a complex web of criminal enterprise and alleged governmental complicity.
As Cambodia vows to eliminate scams by the end of April, the question remains whether this is truly the end of the road for such criminal activities, or merely a shift to new, less visible operations.
