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Failed businessman Leng Navatra will auction off nearly 20,000 land plots in Siem Reap province at a discount of up to 75%, with the proceeds used to complete his stalled 6A and other real estate projects, following government intervention over unfinished homes and customer complaints.
In a statement, Navatra said his company, Galaxy Navatra, was offering plots at discounted rates of between 70% and 75%, with prices starting at $950 for plots measuring five meters by 20 meters. The company will auction the plots in phases to raise funds for his unfinished projects, noting that buyers would receive land titles and possession of the plots.
In addition, the company has offered extended time to existing customers to address overdue installments. He said the latest appeal would be allowed with no penalties imposed as the company’s final call for customers to settle their payments.
“For the first project, you don’t have to worry about not getting the land or title, or that you would have to wait a long time. Once you purchase the land, you can immediately build a fence around it and take possession,” Navatra said.
Proceeds from the auction would be transferred directly into an account held by the Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction Ministry. He said his company has already consulted the ministry about the auction, and urged the public not to worry about the transfer of ownership.
“It is the company’s responsibility to cooperate with the ministry to find solutions for customers as quickly as possible. The ministry will continue to help facilitate the procedures for transferring ownership, while customers will have to cover some public service fees themselves,” he said.
Hundreds of residents have for years protested, even blocking roads, to compel the Land Management Ministry to intervene in their case after the homes they bought in the 6A project and other projects failed to be delivered.
The ministry later began mediating the dispute and seeking partners to auction properties belonging to Galaxy Navatra after its owner, Navatra, was declared bankrupt and became heavily indebted.
Navatra said in a Facebook post that he had offered his family’s assets, including land, vehicles and properties, to authorities to help complete the projects, though he acknowledged that some assets were tied up in debt and might not be sellable.
The fallout comes despite Navatra’s reputation as a politically-connected tycoon who has donated millions of dollars to the government for COVID-19 vaccines and disaster relief.
He and his siblings hold honorific titles, Oknha and Neak Oknha, bestowed upon individuals who donate at least $500,000 to the government. Navatra has requested that the titles be revoked.
As of September 9, efforts were made by the government to complete the construction and hand over 598 houses to customers, according to a report by the ministry. In addition, it has registered and issued 5,970 property ownership certificates for customers who had paid 100% of the purchase price.
Ly Heang, a customer who bought a house in the 6A project in 2021, said after waiting for nearly five years for his house, construction has reached 90% due to the ministry’s intervention. He described the progress as “hopeful” after years of waiting.
Heang said he already paid the company in full, so he would move into the house once it is completed. “Normally, a company has to do this [complete the build of a house]. It’s their responsibility because they have already taken people’s money,” he said.
Another customer, who only gave her name as Touch, said she bought a villa costing more than $40,000 and waited over five years without a house to live in. She has decided to build the house herself using her own money instead of waiting for the company to “fulfill” their promise despite the government’s intervention.
She said the ministry told her that the construction of her house could take about another four years to complete because each block of house would take about a year to build as it is being done in phases. Her house is located in one of the later construction phases, she said.
“I don’t want to continue living under psychological pressure [although] the ministry is indeed solving a problem,” she said. However, the construction of her block has been rescheduled to later. “I think that is too long, and it will be stressful.”
She said there are visible changes since the ministry intervened, but she has little hope over the completion if she continues to rely on the company, hence her decision to spend about $20,000 of her money to build the house. She hoped other customers would receive their homes soon.
“We don’t know where our money went because the customers already paid the full price,” she said.
Comments from residents on Navatra’s post also raised questions about the status of their land in Battambang province because they received very little information and have yet to see land markers.
Ministry spokesman Seng Lot did not answer calls seeking comment on the latest development in the case.
Meas Nee, a political analyst and commentator, told CamboJA News that the case should be viewed in two separate contexts: fraud and bankruptcy.
If this is a fraud case involving hundreds of millions of dollars, investigators must find out where the money went and freeze those funds so they can be used to complete the houses and projects for the people.
But, Nee said, if the company is “genuinely bankrupt”, there should be an investigation to determine whether the company committed fraud or became bankrupt because of other factors.
Therefore, there must be clear evidence to ensure transparency and justice for customers, he remarked.
“If there is no thorough investigation, the Leng Navatra case would portray one standard while other tycoons’ cases reflect another standard. Our justice system has not yet conducted an in-depth investigation,” he said.
