Cambodian police and military officers worked as private security guards in scam compounds where thousands were forced to work in the online fraud industry, according to a report by Amnesty International.

The global rights group alleged they worked for security companies as part of a system that enabled slavery and rape in the compounds, with some guards using electric batons to keep people trapped.

“For years, survivors of these nightmarish compounds described encountering members of the Cambodian military or police inside. These accounts could not be independently verified – until now,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general.

Based on 151 survivor interviews, visits to 82 scam compounds and social media videos from dozens of guard accounts showing them in company uniform, the investigation said it could link illicit operations with five well-connected private security companies.

“Our findings begin to expose the long-suspected links between Cambodia’s billion-dollar criminal scamming networks and politically connected figures who have remained largely beyond scrutiny,” Callamard said.

“At the heart of these connections are security companies whose guards controlled compound exits, hunted down people who escaped and enforced compliance through fear and violence. Without them, this system of mass exploitation could not have functioned.”Hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked into south-east Asia from across the world, according to the UN. In many cases, they have been lured by the promise of an office job and then forced to carry out online scams, targeting victims globally.

Among these is so-called pig butchering, a type of romance fraud where criminals build a fake relationship with a victim, slowly “fattening them up” before stealing their money.

The Amnesty report, titled Official Business: Security companies and authorities at scamming compounds in Cambodia, alleges that a company called Leap Somnang had the largest footprint and was linked to at least 15 compounds across eight provinces. Twelve survivors identified the company’s guards, uniforms or logo, the report says.

Amnesty alleges that Leap Somnang is believed to be controlled by Ban Sophat, who publicly served as its chair while also being a colonel in the armed forces. It provided photos it claimed showed him alongside Leap Somnang guards at two scamming compounds.

The rights group quoted a letter from Ban Sophat denying holding any ownership, director or management role in Leap Somnang, stating that he had “served as an adviser to the company owner”.

“The fact that I may appear in a photograph taken at a particular location does not mean that I have knowledge of, or involvement in, the activities or operations conducted there,” it cited him as saying.

Scam site survivors have described guards administering electric shocks and beatings, detaining people in “dark rooms” and standing guard while compound managers raped women.

Amnesty said it had identified more than 20 members of the military and police who were seen to have an active presence at the compounds, including working openly as guards.

With annual losses estimated at about $100bn – a sum that outstrips the GDP of several countries in the region – international pressure has grown on countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to crack down. There are signs that some parts of the industry are moving to South Asia.

In July 2025, Cambodia launched its largest-ever crackdown on scam operations, promising to wipe out the criminal networks. Authorities claim to have shut down hundreds of scam centres, and Amnesty said the industry there was now “dormant”.

“Even if scamming compounds are dormant, our findings clearly show that the infrastructure of impunity has not been dismantled,” Callamard said. “Cambodia will not have ended this abusive industry until it has held to account those who staffed, managed, financed and protected this abusive system.”

Amnesty said it presented its findings to Cambodian authorities, and cited a response from the ministry of interior stating that it had, as part of its ongoing crackdowns, already disciplined 77 police officers, prosecuted six private security guards for using stun batons illegally and detained 17 military, police, and civil officials for colluding with criminals.

Authorities had sent 3,477 suspects to court, the letter says, citing a policy of “no tolerance, no exemption, and no retreat” to ensure Cambodia did not become a “haven or operating base for transnational criminal networks”.

Amnesty said it did not receive a response from Leap Somnang.

The Guardian has contacted Cambodia’s interior ministry, Ban Sophat and Leap Somnang for comment.