The Albanese government is being urged to leverage strong diplomatic and people-to-people links between Australia and Cambodia to pressure authorities to close scam centres, following a scathing report alleging that recent crackdowns were hampered by “systematic failures”.
Amnesty International Report Alleges ‘Systemic Failures’
The Amnesty International report, released on Monday, alleged that Cambodian authorities had delivered only “isolated gains” in cracking down on illicit scam centres. Operations were left running in many cases, and victims of human trafficking were left without support. The report found that Cambodian authorities had approved at least 16 new businesses which Amnesty International alleged were linked to known scamming compounds, often run by “a network of transnational, criminal groups”.
Calls for Australia to Step Up
Andrew Witheford, International and Crisis Lead at Amnesty International, said Australia should use its “substantial” diplomatic, economic, development assistance and law enforcement links with Cambodia to continue pressuring authorities to close scam centres and prosecute offenders. “Clearly, enforcement by the Cambodian authorities has been inadequate,” Mr Witheford said. “International scrutiny, co-ordination and assistance must be stepped up to improve this response.”
He added: “Australia should use its regional diplomatic heft through groupings such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to promote a more co-ordinated regional and international response to the issue.” Mr Witheford noted that despite shortcomings in local policing, Australia should “step up” existing co-operation with authorities. “The scale and extent of the problem necessitates greater international focus and co-ordination,” he said. “Australia should also examine how it could assist and support the victims, by providing funding for rescue shelters and civil society organisations working on the issue in Cambodia, and encouraging the Cambodian government to deal with the survivors appropriately, as victims of human trafficking.”
Strengthening Australia’s Legal Framework
Mr Witheford also called for Australia’s legal and enforcement regime to address modern slavery and human trafficking to be strengthened, including enforcement of compliance with due diligence obligations and further action to address forced labour. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Australia worked closely with international partners, including Cambodia, to “support efforts to identify and disrupt cyber scam syndicates and protect scam victims, including those subject to forced labour or trafficking”. “Australia has a robust regulatory framework to counter forced labour in supply chains,” they said. “Central to this is the Modern Slavery Act, which requires large entities and the Australian government to report annually on how they are addressing modern slavery risks.”
International Cooperation and Recent Developments
Australia also provides support to counter human trafficking and organised crime through bodies such as ASEAN, and in May agreed alongside QUAD members India, Japan, and the United States to deepen cooperation on online scam centres. The report comes after a fake Australian Federal Police office was found in an abandoned scam compound in Cambodia earlier this year. AFP Assistant Commissioner David McLean told a Senate estimates hearing in January that the agency was not aware at that time that the fake AFP room was “instrumental in defrauding anyone”, but foreign partners were still investigating the site. “We’re working with the Thais to process a range of material that they have been able to extract from the scene. We’ll see where that goes,” he said. Mr McLean noted a “very, very long history of co-operation” with Cambodian authorities, with whom the AFP had shared “what we know as a result of the action taken”.
In 2024, the AFP’s Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre launched Operation Firestorm, focused on cyber criminals and human trafficking targets in South-East Asia and Eastern Europe. An AFP spokesperson earlier this year said AFP officers in Cambodia continued to work with local authorities, including Cambodian National Police, regarding scam centres targeting Australians.
Cambodia’s Response and Report Findings
In March, the Cambodian government vowed to shut down all the country’s scam centres by the end of April. At the time, they said they had targeted 250 locations believed to be carrying out scam activity since July and had shut about 80 per cent, or 200, of them. However, the Amnesty International report found that, in the midst of a state crackdown late last year, authorities had intervened at only 24 of 86 identified scamming compounds. At seven, the agency reported “mass release or escapes” without police intervention at the time. “This stands in stark contrast to the government’s claims that they have intervened at more than 250 scam centres,” the report stated. “While it is likely that authorities have acted at more compounds than Amnesty International was able to verify, the government’s persistent lack of transparency, combined with documented failures during publicised interventions, significantly undermines its own claims of success.” The report urged Cambodia to prioritise protection of victims of human trafficking, review its crackdown, and act immediately, while international partners were urged to continue to compel the Cambodian government to act.
