Cambodian tycoon was landlord to Chinese scammers and human traffickers

O’SMACH, Cambodia / BANGKOK – A gambling empire controlled by a powerful Cambodian tycoon ⁠was the landlord of a compound that was used for industrial-scale scamming and human trafficking operations, Reuters has found.

Lim Heng Group leased out buildings on grounds shared with one of its casinos on the Thai-Cambodian border at above-market rates, a rental agreement dated March 2024 seen by the news agency shows. The structures housed rooms that had been transformed to look like police stations and bank offices from multiple countries — the backdrops for impersonation scams perpetrated on victims worldwide, according to interviews with the Thai military and people who worked in those buildings, as well as two visits by Reuters this year to the property.

Reuters is the first to report the details of Lim Heng Group’s commercial ties to buildings where scams were carried out, which were located just tens of meters away from its casino, Royal Hill.