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The Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) has opened an asset declaration file on its suspended deputy chairman, Sean Borath, and searched his office as part of an investigation into his alleged links to a $200 million fraud scheme, the agency said Thursday.
Borath was suspended in August after the ACU named him a suspected conspirator in an investment scam in Siem Reap province. The scheme, led by prominent tycoon Leng Channa, who is in pre-trail detention, defrauded thousands of families of hundreds of millions of dollars in a fake real estate project.
Many families took out loans to invest in the scheme, unaware it was fraudulent, leaving them with thousands of dollars in debt. The stolen funds have yet to be located or returned.
In an Oct. 30 statement, the ACU said it had taken testimony since last month from Borath’s assistant, Channa and her ex-husband, and Sar Thavy, another suspect who is the undersecretary of state at the Ministry of National Defense.
Borath’s wife has also been ordered to file an additional asset and liability declaration, having previously submitted one.
Seven other suspects in Siem Reap Provincial Prison were questioned in early September, the ACU said.
Thavy declined to comment, hanging up the phone, while calls to Borath went unanswered.
ACU spokesperson Soy Chanvichet said the agency is continuing its investigation but could not provide further details.
Han Seihuon, a victim of the investment scam, said he borrowed over $40,000 from a bank to invest with Channa’s company, Brilliant City, trusting the project’s legitimacy because senior government officials were on its board.
“It is quiet now. I haven’t heard about any compensation,” he said. “I plead with the court to expedite the case. We are ordinary citizens and don’t have enough money to repay the bank.”
Siem Reap court spokesperson Yin Srang said the court is continuing its investigation into the case but did not provide details on when or if victims would be reimbursed or receive damages.In recent years, some prominent tycoons have been implicated in investment scandals, with hundreds of families filing complaints of land fraud.
