As of 2024, approximately 5.04 million Cambodians owed financial institutions, according to a report from the Credit Bureau of Cambodia (CBC). Some of these debts are a result of failed investment projects that left victims struggling to repay loans, forcing them to sell assets and migrate for work or risk losing their homes.

Despite government efforts to prosecute those responsible, victims continue to wait for solutions that would relieve their suffering.

Noch Mom, a 58-year-old farmer from Kampot province, invested nearly $20,000 in a project with Piphup Deimeas Investment Co Ltd in 2022. She took out a loan from a private bank for home renovation. For the first nine months, she received a steady profit of around $500, which she used to support her family.

However, the payments stopped, and she struggled to repay her loan. She was forced to sell her assets, and her children had to move to other provinces to earn money to repay the bank.

“But my children don’t earn much and I have to pay $326 monthly for the interest. The challenge is not having money to buy food. If I don’t have food, it’s miserable. There’s no money for my grandchildren to go to school. Some days, I have food to eat and some days I don’t,” Mom said.

With no stable income, she fears that the bank will seize her property she used as collateral, adding to her distress. She hopes the government will intervene to help victims who were deceived by former tycoon Heng Kimhong’s investment scheme.

“I want Samdech to help me soon. I am in distress. Please help me find justice so that I can escape this suffering,” she pleaded.

To repay her debt, Mom is considering selling a one-hectare plot of land, but due to low land prices, she is hesitant to proceed.

In a similar scheme, a victim of former tycoon Leng Channa’s Brilliant City project, Penh Naran, 45, of Kralanh district, Siem Reap province, told CamboJA News that she has not heard anything regarding a resolution for victims or when justice will be served despite Channa’s arrest.

Naran invested with the company through bank loans. She had to pay $1,400 in interest to the bank each month after borrowing $50,000 from two different banks. However, the bank restructured her loan, extending her repayment period to 10 years because she was unable to pay the high interest rate, which brought her monthly interest payment down to $750.

Despite this, she is unable to make enough money to pay back as she is in a bad financial state.

“It is sad that a husband and wife have to separate to go to work in Thailand. If a solution is reached soon, my private loan and bank loans will be paid soon and I am waiting for a solution every month. I am tired of waiting,” said Naran. 

The Brilliant City investment scam has put her under a lot of pressure to deal with issues as a housewife and mother of three sons and daughters, she said, believing that Prime Minister Hun Manet’s intervention will be successful and that justice will be rendered to the victims.

“I have cried enough. I urge the lawyer to find a solution [because] our people are in a bad state,” said Naran. 

When contacted, Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesperson Y  Rin briefly said it was difficult to provide information as some of the cases involving Heng Kimhong are in the interrogation stage.

CamboJA News also tried to contact Piphup Deimeas but the phone numbers listed on their Facebook page were unreachable. The page also showed that the company continues to operate and is developing a new project. A post by them mentioned that they are in the process of organizing and development with support and collaboration, and responsibility to customers.

On March 19, 2025, Piphup Deimeas issued a notice that some individuals who held managerial positions in the company as well as their marketing team members had extravagant lifestyles. They created new businesses outside the company that did not bring any benefit to the company. Piphup Deimeas also said it was not responsible for those companies and will continue to find a solution for the customers.

Ky Tech, government lawyer, who is representing the victims, declined to comment but in a press conference in October, posted by Freshnews, he said there were 4,929 victims who voluntarily requested lawyers to represent them in the Leng Channa case. 

Meanwhile, Kampot Deputy Governor Ngan Sarith said he does not have any details yet about the Piphup Deimeas case, but in the Chea Saran case, there are nearly 5,000 people who have applied for intervention and are waiting for a solution according to the investment status of each citizen.

“In the Chea Saran case, the provincial administration and experts are receiving citizens’ applications. A solution will be made after all applications from the relevant citizens are received. It will be resolved step by step,” said Sarith.

More than 5,000 families are in other provinces which have land purchase contracts in Kampot province, so they can apply for intervention and obtain a solution at the Kampot provincial administration.

Regarding the fraud case of the former tycoons’ investment projects, government spokesperson Pen Bona said the government is ensuring victims receive justice, such as issuing arrest warrants and detaining the perpetrators, paying compensation to victims, and sentencing offenders according to the law.

​​Penn Sovicheat, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, said companies which are registered with the ministry become legal entities, but construction or business licenses under the real estate sector are handled by a specialized institution.

As such, he did not have information about the land issue. “You can ask the specialized institution which issued the license,” he added. 

On August 11, Phnom Penh Municipal Court Investigating Judge issued a temporary detention order for Kimhong, board chairman for Piphup Deimeas, and five accomplices at the Police Judiciaire prison after the Prosecutor’s Office completed investigations.

Eight security guards were released on grounds that they were not involved in any crime. Kimhong was released on bail in November 2023. 

In the same land investment case, Chea Saran was arrested in April following a lawsuit filed against him and his colleagues by some 2,000 families. He was charged with aggravated fraud and sent to Kampot Provincial Prison on April 27.

Am Sam Ath, operations director of rights group Licadho, told CamboJA News that the government has already intervened in the land fraud case, including providing a lawyer to protect the victims according to the law. However, it will take some time as the case is in court. The case is also big as there are many victims, and can be complicated. 

“The process is taking time, so the victims have to wait for the solution. While waiting for a solution, victims have lost hope and are concerned about paying back their loans,” said Sam Ath. 

In the meantime, the government can push the court to solve the case fast as the victims have been waiting for a solution and cannot ignore their obligations to the bank. Many family members have migrated to neighboring countries to work or forced their children to drop out of school just to help the family earn more income.

“I think besides intervening by following the court process, the government should consider other ways to help victims outside the court,” he added.

Over in Siem Reap, many of Naran’s villagers, including her husband, have left home to work in Thailand to ease financial burden and repay their bank loans. While the able-bodied migrate to make money, the majority of the elderly remain at home.

Asked why she invested in the land deal, she said it was because she had faith in the “influential individuals” in the investment firm.

“As the company was run by influential people, I didn’t think it was a fraud. I lost the money I borrowed from the bank. Both the bank and private loans have put a lot of strain on me, and I want to end my life,” Naran lamented.