The Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) has suspended their deputy chairman Sean Borath, who is also the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, after an investigation found him and Sar Thavy, Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of National Defense, allegedly connected to Brilliant City CEO Leng Channa’s multi-million dollar land fraud case.
ACU head Om Yentieng announced on Tuesday that Borath was suspended from his position and is required to report to the unit daily.
In December 2024, the Siem Reap Provincial Court questioned Borath and Thavy as a witness in the $200 million land fraud scheme where thousands of families in Siem Reap lost money after investing in the Brilliant City real estate project. Following that, Borath and Thavy were declared suspects in the case.
Separately, the court referred 32 cases involving tycoon Channa and Brilliant City associates to the ACU after working on the case for nearly two years.
Channa was arrested in March after thousands of Siem Reap families, including more than 100 Cambodian workers in Korea, lost huge amounts of money in the “high dividend scheme” scam over two years.
Borath could not be reached for comment while Thavy declined to answer questions when CamboJA News contacted them via telephone.
One investor, Khun Chansavuth, who lives in Kralanh district, Siem Reap, said he took out bank loans to invest nearly $20,000 in Brilliant City. With no returns from the investment, the carpenter has been struggling to pay more than one million riel ($250) of interest payment per month, earning only a daily income which is not even enough to support his family.
He hopes the government will resolve the fraud case for the sake of the victims so that they can obtain some compensation to pay their bank loan and urge the bank to postpone monthly interest. He is thankful that the court and ACU have taken action but hopes the bank will provide a solution to their bank loans.
“I’m happy with the procedure so far, but I want my money back so that I can pay back the bank loan. Even though the case will be solved, I still owe money to the bank and must pay them timely,” said Chansavuth.
As he is not an immigrant or a displaced person, he said he is not eligible for loan restructuring or debt forgiveness offered to those affected by the border conflict, and has even given the bank his land title because he has no money to pay back.
ACU spokesperson Soy Chanvichet told CamboJA News that they decided to suspend Borath after the investigation revealed some details.
“As of today, the case is under investigation,” Chanvichet said, adding that he cannot confirm any information about those who worked with Borath as the investigation is not complete. He also declined to comment on the progress of the case because the court authorities are handling it.
Investment scandals have involved prominent Cambodian elites in recent years with hundreds of families filing complaints of land fraud, among them is the case involving tycoon Hy Kimhong.
Five individuals—senior government officials, businessmen and a lawyer—have been charged following the corruption and fraud case linked to the detention of Ly Samet and Duong Dara, who were former aides of Senate president Hun Sen.
Am Sam Ath, operations director of Licadho, opined that the acceleration of the criminal case is good as it helped to find a solution for the victims, but they are now seeking compensation to repay their loans.
He urged the government and relevant parties to intervene to ask banks and microfinance institutions to come up with a mechanism to help the victims ease their debt burden, as well as ensure justice for them.
“People are facing challenges in their daily life because of the fraud, resulting in bank debts and the risk of losing their land or house,” said Sam Ath, while calling for the investigation to be expedited, and for the company’s assets to be seized to provide compensation to the victims.
