'5 strokes of the cane': Inside the massive scam compound that was bombed to end its reign of terror

• BBC reveals staged offices and harsh punishments inside bombed scam compound
• International investigations linked regional fraud hubs to cryptocurrency and organized crime networks
• New laws and raids target operators as scam networks relocate across Southeast Asia

A bombed casino complex on Cambodia’s border has exposed how large-scale scam factories operated behind guarded walls, with evidence pointing to violence, forced labor, and industrialized fraud.

BBC reporters who entered the seriously damaged Royal Hill complex described wandering through shattered corridors where staged offices once ran nonstop deception campaigns targeting victims around the world.

Rooms inside the six-storey building had been transformed into replicas of banks, police stations, and government offices, built to make scams appear legitimate during video or voice calls.

5 strokes of the cane

The BBC's report outlined how discarded fake currency, scripts in multiple languages, and abandoned personal items were scattered across floors after workers fled during airstrikes.

The compound was struck during a short border conflict, with Thai forces later occupying the site and pointing to it as proof of the scale of cross-border fraud operations.

BBC journalists described documents found inside the rubble outlining strict punishments for workers who failed to meet daily targets.

Failure to secure a new victim contact by the end of a shift brought “5 strokes of the cane,” while repeated shortfalls led to harsher beatings or confinement.

Survivors interviewed by the BBC described exhausting shifts lasting up to 16 hours, following scripts that guided conversations meant to build trust before pushing victims toward financial transfers.

The compound reflects a wider network of organized fraud operations that have expanded across Southeast Asia in recent years.

International investigators have linked many of these centers to transnational criminal groups that rely on cryptocurrency systems and online platforms to move stolen funds.

Last year, authorities in the United States formed a strike force targeting scam hubs in Burma, Cambodia, and Laos, seizing more than $401 million tied to fraudulent operations and related infrastructure.

Regional governments have also begun tightening legal responses after years of criticism from foreign governments and human rights groups.

Cambodia recently approved new penalties for running online scams, including prison sentences of up to 10 years and heavy financial fines for organizers and recruiters.

Even with buildings destroyed or abandoned, enforcement agencies warn that scam compounds can relocate quickly, shifting operations across borders while leaving empty shells behind.

Royal Hill now stands damaged and silent, yet investigators say the methods uncovered inside it remain widely used across the region’s evolving fraud industry.

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