Casino boss was landlord to Chinese scammers

Key Points:

• O’Smach, a small Cambodian border town, experienced a construction boom from 2018 to 2025, centered around casino complexes owned by Cambodian tycoon Lim Heng, with many buildings used as call centers for large-scale scamming and human trafficking operations.
• Lim Heng Group, owner of the Royal Hill Resort and Casino, leased buildings at above-market rates to Chinese nationals who ran impersonation scams targeting victims globally; a lease agreement showed $200,000 monthly rent for three buildings used in these operations.
• The scam facilities included rooms staged as foreign police stations and bank offices, where trafficked workers were coerced into fraud schemes; Thai military strikes in December 2025 halted these operations, revealing extensive physical infrastructure supporting the scams.
• Cambodian authorities have pledged to combat scam centers, extradited key suspects, and passed anti-scam legislation, but the government has downplayed the Royal Hill complex’s role, describing it as a hotel despite evidence of criminal activity on site.
• Victims and investigations confirm severe human trafficking and abuse within the scam compounds, which housed thousands of workers under guarded conditions; some trafficked individuals have testified in court, resulting in convictions of low-level scammers.