At the center of a web of corruption amongst Khmer elites is Choeung Sopheap -- a successful Cambodian tycoon and business partner of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s wife, Bun Rany. Sopheap, pictured surrounded by relatives -- several of whom hold multimillion-dollar assets outside of Cambodia -- at the marriage of her granddaughter to the son of Cambodia’s finance minister, is also stepmother to Lau Vann, one of the most influential Cambodians living in Melbourne, Australia.
The sizeable and unexplained wealth and foreign property holdings of Cambodia’s ruling elite is an off-limits topic for domestic media in the country, where government censors restrict #pressfreedom and ensure the predominance of state narratives. Investigative reporter Jack Davies and journalists from RFA’s Khmer Service have thwarted these efforts by using public records to reveal the overseas financial dealings of senior government officials and Hun Sen’s relatives and associates. A series of RFA exclusives have unearthed the kind of information that the so-called “Khmer Riche'' would prefer to remain hidden. A typical annual salary in Cambodia is well under U.S. $10,000.
The sizeable and unexplained wealth and foreign property holdings of Cambodia’s ruling elite is an off-limits topic for domestic media in the country, where government censors restrict #pressfreedom and ensure the predominance of state narratives. Investigative reporter Jack Davies and journalists from RFA’s Khmer Service have thwarted these efforts by using public records to reveal the overseas financial dealings of senior government officials and Hun Sen’s relatives and associates. A series of RFA exclusives have unearthed the kind of information that the so-called “Khmer Riche'' would prefer to remain hidden. A typical annual salary in Cambodia is well under U.S. $10,000.
One recent story shows how over the last five years, some of the Hun Sen government’s closest allies have begun moving to Australia, slowly siphoning their vast wealth acquired from proximity to power in Phnom Penh. RFA identified Australian assets worth tens of millions of dollars held by 14 individuals from four of Cambodia’s most powerful families.
Previous RFA exclusives on the Cambodian elite revealed how Hun Sen’s children had bought a home in New York state, the vast Florida real estate holdings of the family of top Cambodian energy officials, and the US $2.7 million beachside residence in Cyprus of the wife of Cambodia’s top police chief. RFA’s investigations have ensured that the story of systemic graft among Cambodian political elites is heard.
Join RFA in recognizing the vital role of a free press in society by marking #WorldPressFreedomDay.
Previous RFA exclusives on the Cambodian elite revealed how Hun Sen’s children had bought a home in New York state, the vast Florida real estate holdings of the family of top Cambodian energy officials, and the US $2.7 million beachside residence in Cyprus of the wife of Cambodia’s top police chief. RFA’s investigations have ensured that the story of systemic graft among Cambodian political elites is heard.
Join RFA in recognizing the vital role of a free press in society by marking #WorldPressFreedomDay.
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