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Ex-PM’s Former Assistant Duong Dara Investigated For Fraud By Phnom Penh Court

Duong Dara, ex-prime minister Hun Sen’s assistant, was arrested and questioned for fraud on October 10, 2024, a photo post on his Facebook.
Duong Dara, ex-prime minister Hun Sen’s assistant, was arrested and questioned for fraud on October 10, 2024, a photo post on his Facebook.

Prosecutors of Phnom Penh Municipal Court have opened an investigation into Duong Dara, former Prime Minister Hun Sen’s assistant, for fraud under Articles 377 and 378 of the Criminal Code, court spokesperson Plang Sophal confirmed.

However, Sophal did not specify who filed the complaint against Dara, when responding to CamboJA News via Telegram. He also could not ascertain if Dara was in custody at the moment.

Dara was arrested by Phnom Penh Municipal Police on October 10, 2024 after he returned from China and questioned, said National Police spokesperson Chhay Kim Khoeun. 

“Yes, Dara was questioned. For the story behind it, you need to wait for more information from the court,” Kim Khoeun told CamboJA News.

According to Koh Santepheap Daily, in the afternoon of October 10, the police executed an order to bring Dara to the Phnom Penh Municipal Police for questioning in relation to a complaint made by the public, but it did not identify the individuals.

Dara was the person who created Hun Sen’s Facebook page and later became his personal assistant. In November 2020, Dara was appointed as secretary of state at the Council of Ministers. In 2022, Dara’s godfather Ly Sameth was appointed as advisor to Hun Sen, who is now Senate president.

The arrest of Dara comes on the heels of Hun Sen revealing that Sameth, who allegedly helped to secure Korn Sokkay’s appointment, solicited bribes in exchange for favors and government positions. Sokkay was the former L’vea Em district governor who allegedly paid $300,000 to secure the Arei Ksat governor post in Kandal. He was removed from his post a week ago.

Meanwhile, Hun Sen called for Sameth’s assets to be frozen and for the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to order him to pay restitution to those who he took money from – a sum which he estimates to be over $10.5 million.

As Hun Sen’s personal assistant, Dara helped to settle “long-standing disputes” outside court and visited people in the provinces on behalf of Hun Sen. This is according to the activities Dara shared on his Facebook page. 

Prior to the arrest, he was allegedly involved in a scandal linked to money laundering, where scores of people invested in a land and apartment project called Phum Khmer Group in Svay Rieng claimed that they were cheated. On February 3, 2024, Dara stood in front of the investors, “guaranteeing” them that Phum Khmer Group, where his brother Duong Virath was one of the shareholders, would “not cheat them”.

“I came today to verify the accuracy and you [customers] can take a photo with me […] if you buy [property] here and didn’t receive it, I can guarantee you [that] this company will not cheat customers in Svay Rieng,” Dara said on the day he joined the solidarity meal gathering on February 3.

Phum Khmer Group was established by Som Sothea in 2016. The company invests in agriculture, land and apartment projects, as well as running land investment schemes. Sothea was imprisoned by the authorities in June 2024, while Dara, who used to guarantee the company’s activities, denied that he was involved in it.

Chum Makara, 44, claimed to be a victim of fraudulent land sale by Phum Khmer Group Project in 2022. She has invested $10,500 to date, but has not received any land, only the purchase agreement.

Makara explained that she bought the land for her children because the project seemed “good” and “lots of villagers bought the land”, so she decided to borrow from the bank to buy the land, paying $500 for the monthly interest. 

“I saw that it was in a good location. I never thought it would turn into a scam,” Makara said, hoping for a solution where she would at least get her money back after she and other victims filed a complaint with the provincial authority. 

Another investor in Svay Rieng, Phin Han, 43, said he has spent a total of $25,000 since 2022 for a piece of land measuring five meters by 26 meters. 

Han said the purchase of the land seemed ambiguous, as he did not know where exactly the land was. He and many other victims filed complaints  several times, but there has been no solution. 

“We want the government to deal with this issue, first with the [return of the] money we paid to buy the land. We took out loans from banks to buy this land and now we are in a difficult situation,” said Han. 

Chin Malin, spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice, told CamboJA News via Telegram that the court was working on the case.

“Because it is under the court’s jurisdiction [now], please contact the court as a matter of principle and legal procedure,” Malin said. 

Phnom Penh Municipal Police chief Chuon Narin declined to comment, referring questions to police spokesperson Sam Vicheka, but the latter did not respond.

Government spokesperson Pen Bona did not respond to CamboJA News’ questions relating to the case. 

Meanwhile, Cambodia Institute for Democracy president Pa Chanroeun viewed that the legal action on Dara happened after Hun Sen revealed information about the fraud.

Chanroeun hopes that the victims will be rendered justice and the truth about those involved in the corruption will be revealed, which will make for good social justice and a good example for the new government.  

“For me, I think if the Senate president has information or evidence, [he should] give it to the Anti Corruption Unit so that further action, according to the law, is taken on those who are involved to eliminate corruption,”  Chanroeun said. 

Cambodia’s corruption situation is underscored by its score of 22 out of 100 on the Corruption Perception Index, a widely used global corruption ranking system by Transparency International. 

(Additional report by Pou Soreachny)

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