Prominent businessman Heng Sithy’s allegations of corruption and cybercrime against high-ranking Cambodian officials elicited vehement denials, with government leaders refuting the claims, drawing widespread public and political attention.
The controversy was ignited by Sithy, a former tycoon involved in real estate and development in Cambodia, after a defamation and extortion lawsuit was filed against him by Phua Gek Seng, a Singapore citizen who also holds Cambodian citizenship. Sithy has since made explosive revelations against senior government officials.
It began on November 22 when Sithy accused Phua — known by his nickname “Tak”— for allegedly operating the “largest online casino network in Cambodia” and being involved in money laundering activities. To counter that, Phua Gek Seng filed a lawsuit, alleging defamation and extortion.
According to the lawsuit, Sithy sent a text to Phua on November 18, 2024, demanding $2 million if he wanted him to stop exposing Phua’s alleged involvement in illegal casino operations and money laundering.
Phua could not be reached for comment as his contact details are unavailable.
Following the lawsuit, King Norodom Sihamoni, upon request of Prime Minister Hun Manet stripped Sithy of his honorary “Neak Oknha” title, which was bestowed on him in 2021 after he received his Oknha title in 2014. However, Sithy refuted that his title was stripped, saying that he “gave it up on his own accord”.
He also alleged high-ranking government leaders, including Kandal province governor Kuoch Chamroeun, who was formerly Preah Sihanouk governor, National Police Commissioner General Sar Thet, Interior Minister Sar Sokha, and Phnom Penh Municipal Police chief Chuon Narin of corruption and misconduct.
In a Facebook post, Sithy wrote that Kuoch Chamroeun was allegedly complicit in protecting illegal gambling activities and other illegal operations during his tenure as governor of Sihanoukville. According to the post, Chamroeun allegedly got “hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency”, such as USDT, USDC and Bitcoin through these activities.
Chamroeun did not answer any calls by CamboJA News, but on December 22, he denied Sithy’s allegations during an event at Samdech Preah Mahasangharajah Bour Kry University, which was celebrating a new academic year.
“I would like to confirm that I do not have any crypto money as written in the post,” he said in his speech before those who attended the event. “If anyone knows where my crypto money is, please bring it to Kantha Bopha Hospital, distribute it to the poor, or build hospitals and schools. I am ready to sign or put down my thumbprint any time.”
He officially took office as governor of Preah Sihanouk on June 29, 2019 before being appointed as Kandal governor on July 1, 2024.
In September 2023, a UN report highlighted that Cambodia has transitioned from being a source country for trafficking victims to becoming a destination for foreign victims. The report revealed that at least 100,000 individuals have been trafficked to Cambodia, where they are forced to participate in online scams.
Online scam centers have been reported in areas such as Preah Sihanouk, Phnom Penh, Kandal, Pursat, Koh Kong, Oddar Meanchey, Svay Rieng, Bavet, and within the Dara Sakor Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and the Henge Thmorda SEZ.
Meanwhile, the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) revealed that Cambodia fell two spots to 22 out of 100, from 24 last year. Globally, Cambodia ranked 158 out of 180 countries and territories, a decline from its 2022 ranking of 150.
Seemingly undeterred by Phua’s lawsuit against him, Sithy continued to share other information, even accusing Phua of paying $5 million to national police commissioner Sar Thet to allegedly produce a false report in order to arrest him.
In addition, he said the Interior Ministry dispensed “light measures on a large scale”, indicating that the Sar Sokha-led ministry was allegedly “inefficient and corrupt from top to bottom”. He asked Prime Minister Hun Manet and the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) to investigate those government officials.
In a reply to CamboJA News via Signal, Sithy mentioned that because he was a “well-known businessman and public figure”, his “network” has been providing him with vital evidence for his case. Based on the information he received, he perceived prevalent injustice, citing instances where criminals used their wealth to allegedly bribe officials.
He said he possessed evidence to support his allegations and was prepared to share it with the ACU. “There are intelligent people everywhere but don’t dare to fight or are afraid of death. They provide me with evidence and information,” Sithy said.
“This will be given to the ACU once they bring those officials in for questioning in a transparent process,” he said.
CamboJA News did not receive any response from National Police spokesperson Chhay Kim Khoeun, both Interior Minister Sar Sokha’s personal spokesperson Ren Rortanak and Interior Ministry’s Institution of Interior Ministry spokesperson Touch Sokhak, and Phnom Penh Municipal Police chief Chuon Narin.
ACU spokesperson Soy Chanvichet said he did not have a comment on Sithy’s allegations when contacted by CamboJA News, stating that they were “just a post by an individual on his own social media”.
However, in an earlier response to RFI Khmer, the ACU spokesperson said the anti-corruption team had gathered publicly available information on social media, including details relating to Sithy’s allegations on Kuoch Chamroeun’s alleged involvement in corruption.
Chanvichet clarified that the allegations were considered news as the ACU has yet to receive any direct complaint in writing from Sithy.
(Additional reporting by Khuon Narim)