Reuters revealed that an investigation found a Cambodian influential tycoon's business group renting buildings within the same area as the "Royal Hill" casino in O'Sommed city, near the Thailand-Cambodia border, to Chinese nationals for as much as $200,000 per month. These properties were then used as bases for transnational call center gangs and large human trafficking networks, although no direct evidence links the company to the crimes.
A key piece of evidence Reuters examined was a March 2024 lease agreement between a Lim Heng Group affiliate and a Chinese national. It involved leasing three buildings within the Royal Hill casino area, located in O'Sommed city in northwestern Cambodia, adjacent to the Thai border.
The lease contract specified a monthly rent of $200,000 (approximately 6.8 million baht), an amount vastly above market prices compared to this quiet border town. For perspective, large commercial buildings in central Phnom Penh rent for only around $25,000 per month.
Reuters’ on-site inspection after the area was attacked by the Thai military during a December border clash found that the buildings, surrounded by tall barbed wire fences, were decorated to resemble "police stations" and "bank offices" from multiple countries. These served as backdrops for video calls used to defraud victims worldwide, consistent with statements from Police Lieutenant General Thatchai Pitanilabutr, Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, who said the area was used by Chinese mafia as a cyber scam base.
Dr. Lim Heng, owner of the business group, is among Cambodia's major businessmen with high social status and political connections. Holding a royal title equivalent to "Okya," he often appears at social events with senior generals and has donated substantial sums to the Cambodian military.
Although the Cambodian government has declared serious intent to crack down on call center gangs and previously extradited Chen Zhi, a casino owner and major suspect, to Chinese authorities, it has consistently maintained that the Royal Hill site is merely a "hotel," despite widespread images of fake police stations circulating globally.
Legal and human rights experts in Phnom Penh state that under Cambodian law, landowners or lessors may be prosecuted if investigations prove they were aware their properties were used for crimes yet allowed it to continue. Evidence shows Lim Heng Group was warned about human trafficking on the premises as early as 2024 after trying to sue local media reporting on foreign detainees in the casino.
According to the Cambodian Human Rights Action Coalition, an independent organization, and Piseth Duch, a Phnom Penh lawyer specializing in business law and human rights, prosecutors can charge landowners who lease premises used for fraud if investigations find they knowingly allowed their properties to be misused and failed to stop it.
U.S. State Department data indicates cyber scams in Cambodia remain widespread due to financial benefits for elites and influential figures. The Royal Hill call center gang is among the largest networks in Southeast Asia, reportedly detaining about 3,000 workers across more than 500 rai of land.
Miss Pornpen (pseudonym), a rescued Thai victim, revealed she was lured by a Facebook ad for a "website admin" job in 2022 but was detained and forced to make scam calls pretending to be Thai police. The compound had guards wielding batons patrolling 24/7, and those who failed to meet fraud quotas were brutally punished.
Chai Sinrit, Cambodia’s senior minister responsible for combating online crime, said the government is investigating the scam network operations around Royal Hill and is ready to cooperate internationally to fight cybercrime. However, he urged Thai authorities to return the seized area to Cambodia so officials could access and investigate it.
Currently, the Thai military continues to control the area to collect evidence, while Chay Sinarith, Cambodia’s senior minister in charge of online fraud suppression, said Cambodia is accelerating investigations around Royal Hill and calls on Thailand to return the area to facilitate further legal actions.
. SourceReuters