The National Assembly yesterday passed a law to amend three articles in the anti-money laundering and terrorism financing law by a vote of 83 to six.
Speaking at the start of session, Chea Chanto, governor of the National Bank of Cambodia, said the amendments would give the law more teeth by raising sentences and fines.
Last year, Cambodia was ranked the third most-susceptible country (out of 144) to money-laundering by the Switzerland-based Basel Institute on Governance. Chief among its reasons was insufficient regulation and rampant corruption. …
“I would like to raise … that in Cambodia there is presently about $1 billion in dirty money coming from corruption and illegal actions of powerful men and some dishonest companies,” he [Cambodia National Rescue Party lawmaker Yim Sovann] said. “We have the laws, but the measures taken to fight corruption are still weak, and this law might not really be effective.” …
Meas Sokchea
An online trading firm based in the tax haven of Cyprus is planning to open a subsidiary in Cambodia, an account manager at IronFX’s headquarters in Cyprus said yesterday.
“We are on the planning stage in Cambodia. We are now studying law and regulations in the country right now,” account manager Siwapong Meesuntree said by Skype. …
When asked about reports from sources at recruiting firms in Phnom Penh that local staff had already been hired to receive training at IronFX’s headquarters in Cyprus, Siwapong replied: “We will have Cambodia staff very soon.”
Cyprus’s financial services industry has been in the spotlight this year following that country’s financial crisis. The island nation’s financial services industry had grown massively through a combination of tax and regulatory incentives, including a high level of secrecy that can, in some cases, “make the disclosure of information in Cyprus offshore bank accounts … punishable by the law”, according to tax haven experts. “Bank employees and other persons who are associated with Cyprus banks must take an oath of secrecy,” the website Taxhavens.biz says. …
Vincent MacIsaac
Philippe Laurent became secretary-general of Cambodia Airports in May 2008. He was one of six senior executives in charge of the country’s international airports in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and the little-used facility in Sihanoukville. …
Mr. Laurent is now carrying out a one-man campaign against Cambodia Airports in Cambodia and in France, where Vinci, the company’s major stakeholder, is headquartered. He has lobbied French politicians, the press, and financial regulators. He is doing the same in Cambodia, telling his story to anyone who will listen. …
Cambodia Airports is 70 percent owned by Vinci Group, Europe’s largest construction company, and 30 percent by Muhibbah Masteron (Cambodia). Muhibbah Masteron is 70 percent owned by Malaysia conglomerate Muhibbah Engineering Berhad and 30 percent owned by two Cambodian businessmen, Kong Triv and Hann Khieng. …
Cambodia Airports earns revenues of about $100 million every year through a $25 service charge for every passenger that passes through the airport, as well as landing fees, aircraft cleaning fees, parking tickets, cargo related business, storage facilities, and leasing floor space to airline companies, fuel supply companies and the airport’s catering business. It also earns money from commercial shops inside and outside of terminal buildings. …
“My colleagues and I have worked for several years to try and assassinate the unethical environment of these businesses, but to no avail. We have just discovered a short time ago that we were in a money laundering machine for the management of the group at an international level between the following countries: Cambodia, Malaysia and France,” Mr. Laurent told the senators. …
Cambodia Airports refuted all of Mr. Laurent’s allegations “with the highest firmness.”
“Regarding Philippe Laurent’s allegations, we referred the case to the head office, especially Vinci’s ethical committee and an investigation has been performed. The ethical committee has concluded that the specific allegation raised by Philippe Laurent is without merit,” Khek Norinda, communications director of Cambodia Airports, said in an e-mail. …
With Cambodia Airport’s contract to run for another 27 years, and with tourism the one area of the Cambodian economy assured to see massive growth in that time, and with French and Malaysian companies winning associated lucrative contracts, homegrown business resentment would seem an obvious backdrop to the business environment and Mr. Laurent’s campaign. …
As it transpired, Bouygues settled their dispute out of court with Mr. Laurent for a sum of money that he would not disclose for this article.
Simon Marks
The Council of Ministers on Friday approved a draft law amending three articles in the law on anti-money laundering and the financing of terrorism in order to make Cambodia more investment-friendly. …
Last month, the National Bank of Cambodia’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), law enforcement officials and private banks held a weeklong training program, supported by the British Embassy, aimed at arming Cambodian authorities with the knowledge needed to stop the exploitation of the country’s light regulations on financial crime. …
Kuch Naren, P. 27
With Cambodia currently seen as a country where the laundering of illicit cash may be going undetected, an international expert yesterday warned that economic growth and more international trade could leave the country open to financial crime. …
Gert Demmink, a former head of supervision at the Netherlands’ central bank and a consultant on financial crime for GovRisk, said … money launders “seek out new economies where they can safely hide their money, conceal their money… make sure they will not lose due to high levels of corruption and make sure they can utilize the formal financial [system],” Mr. Demmink said…
With economic growth in Cambodia having reached more than 7 percent over the past years and the value of the country’s import and exports rising fast, the risk of money laundering will increase, he said. …
The U.S State Department’s Annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, published on March 1, in its section on financial crime in Cambodia, says the country had “significant money laundering vulnerability,” cash-based dollarized economy, informal financial systems porous borders and limited regulation. …
Simon Lewis
Britain embassy to Cambodia is partnering with Cambodian government ministries and departments to provide a training course on international best practices in the field of anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism, according to the embassy’s press release on Friday. …
The training will be provided by UK organisation GovRisk (The International Governance and Risk Institute), as part of a regional series of workshops, which also cover Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, it said. …
Global Money Laundering is estimated at 2-5 percent of total GDP, or 34-85 billion U.S. dollars, the press release said, adding that Cambodia is particularly vulnerable to this type of illicit activity due to its cash-based economy, the presence of an informal banking system, and porous borders which assist traffickers of drugs and people.
Nzweek Staff
Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister yesterday reiterated his commitment to criminalising money laundering and terrorist financing in the Kingdom.
Sok An reassured delegates at the Asia-Pacific Group (APG) on Money Laundering of Cambodia’s commitment to implementing comprehensive procedures to stop illegal monetary transactions. …
May Kunmakara
Cambodia is ripe for money-laundering and terrorist financing activities due to rampant corruption, banking-sector secrecy and an overall lack of financial transparency, a governance institute says in a report released this week.
The Switzerland-based Basel Institute on Governance has ranked Cambodia the third “highest-risk” country out of 144 listed for its failure to comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards.
Cambodia’s ranking is based on standards and other “risk categories such as financial regulations, public transparency, corruption and rule of law”, according to the report’s authors. …
Bridget Di Certo, P. 5
The National Bank of Cambodia this week signed a Memorandum of Under-standing with the State Bank of Vietnam that would allow for the exchange of information to fight money laundering and terrorism financing.
The MoU, signed by NBC Governor Chea Chanto and SBV Governor Nguyen Van Binh in Phnom Penh on Wednesday, will allow the individual countries to leverage the databases and information held by the other country in combatting the two issues. …
Sieam Bunthy, P.9
Prime Minister Hun Sen’s nephew Hun To hit back strongly yesterday at allegations published in a leading Australian newspaper, The Age, which linked him to an international drug smuggling and money laundering ring, demanding that the publisher print a retraction.
Mr. To sent a letter to the publisher of The Age, care of Australian Ambassador Penny Richards, demanding a correction and apology, and threatening legal action.
“I have never been involved in any heroin trafficking or involved in money laundering directly or indirectly,” Mr. To said in the letter. …
In an interview at his home in Phnom Penh yesterday, Mr. To provided a copy of his Cambodian passport to The Cambodia Daily, which showed that he had visited Australia on several occasions, the most recent in November, staying for two months, and on two other occasions in 2010. …
Phorn Bopha and Simon Lewis, P. 1
http://www.camnet.com.kh/cambodia.daily/ (Note: Infrequently Updated.)
The Interior Ministry yesterday defended Prime Minister Hun Sen’s nephew, Hun To, following explosive allegations by an Australian newspaper, The Age, which alleged that Australian police had suspected Mr. To of involvement in a drug smuggling and money laundering syndicate.
An official from the Cambodian conglomerate Royal Group also said the company was considering legal action against The Age, as the article had unfairly focused on Royal Group Chairman Kith Meng, even though the report admitted there were no allegations of wrongdoing against Mr. Meng.
On Sunday, The Age published allegations that police had planned to arrest Mr. To in Melbourne, Australia, for his alleged involvement in the illegal shipment of heroin from Cambodia to Australia. …
Phorn Bopha and Simon Lewis, P. 1
http://www.camnet.com.kh/cambodia.daily/ (Note: Infrequently Updated.)
Australian newspaper The Age alleged yesterday that Australian authorities have linked Hun To, a nephew of Prime Minister Hun Sen, to a crime syndicate involving heroin trafficking and money laundering.
According to The Age report, Australian police were planning to arrest Mr. To in Melbourne but were unable to do so because the Australian Embassy in Phnom Penh had denied him a visa, “citing the need to avoid a diplomatic incident.” …
Lieutenant General Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said that he had not yet seen the newspaper report, but planned to look into it. “This news is only one-side. I cannot comment. It is too early,” Lt. Gen. Sopheak said. …
Phorn Bopha with additional reporting by Julia Wallace, P. 1
http://www.camnet.com.kh/cambodia.daily/ (Note: Infrequently Updated.)
Money laundering and drug-related crimes continue to be a major challenge in Cambodia due to a lack of enforceable legislation, endemic corruption and limited resources, according a new report by the US State Department. According to the 2012 International Narcotics Strategy Report,
Cambodia continues to be at “significant risk” of money laundering due to several factors, including a substantial black market…
Philip Heijmans with additional reporting by Sai Soenthrith P. 18
http://www.camnet.com.kh/cambodia.daily/ (Note: Infrequently Updated.)
