Sam Rainsy's letter to governor of the Bank of England

 

០៤ កញ្ញា ២០២០ / 04 September 2020
 

លិខិតលោក សម រង្ស៊ី ទៅកាន់លោក Andrew Bailey ជាទេសាភិបាល ធនាគារចក្រភពអង់គ្លេស (Bank of England) ស្នើឲ្យផ្ទៀងផ្ទាត់ ចំនួនមាស ១៥ តោនរបស់កម្ពុជា ដែលតម្កល់ទុក នៅធានាគារកណ្តាលចក្រភពអង់គ្លេស ហើយឲ្យចាត់វិធានការ ដើម្បីជៀសវាងការប្លន់ទ្រព្យសម្បត្តិរបស់ប្រជារាស្ត្រខ្មែរនេះ ពីសំណាក់របប ហ៊ុន សែន ដែលគេដឹងថាជារបបពុករលួយផុតលេខ។

 

 

04 September 2020
To Mr Andrew Bailey
Governor of the Bank of England
London
 

 

Dear Mr Andrew Bailey,
 

My name is Sam Rainsy. I am the acting president of Cambodia’s opposition party, the Cambodian
National Rescue Party, and a former minister of finance of Cambodia.
I am writing to you in relation to the gold that the Prime Minister of Cambodia Hun Sen claims is
being held in the Bank of England. In speeches made in October 2019 (1) and July 2020 (2), and in
response to a call for transparency made by anti-corruption activists, he has asserted that
Cambodia has 15 tons of gold held in your bank.
 

As you will surely be aware, the current Cambodian regime has a worsening reputation when it
comes to corruption and other forms of economic malfeasance. In February 2019, the inter-
governmental anti money-laundering watchdog Financial Action Task Force placed Cambodia on
its watch list out of concerns that the country is highly vulnerable to money-laundering. In May
2020, the European Commission added Cambodia to its so-called ‘black list’ of countries that
“pose significant threats to the financial system of the Union” because of failings in tackling money
laundering and terrorism financing.
 

 

Furthermore, the country is regularly classed as being one of the most corrupt in the world by the
international NGO Transparency International (3). On top of that, very worrying allegations have
surfaced in the international media over the last year or so, which mention how leaders of the Hun
Sen regime and their families may have potentially used the UK (4) and Cyprus (5) real-estate markets
to launder proceeds of crime, as well as obtain residence status and / or citizenship in those
countries. As a result of these media articles, the Cyprus government is in the process of revoking
the citizenship of eight Cambodian nationals (6), including its police chief and finance minister as well
as other infamous business people. This decision was made only weeks after these media
allegations first surfaced.
 

In regards to the 15 tons of gold that Mr. Hun Sen alleges is being held in the Bank of England, we
need to ensure that this gold, which in essence belongs to all Cambodians, is not being misused for
the benefit of the corrupt elite that rules over Cambodia. I want to underline the fact that Mr. Hun
Sen has continuously lied to Cambodian citizens and international institutions and governments
since he violently usurped power in the 1990s. Moreover, we want to make sure that in the event
that Hun Sen loses power in the near future, the country’s assets are properly accounted for.
There is no information on the bank’s web site on how much Cambodian gold is held in the Bank
of England. Thus, to ensure that an acceptable level of transparency and accountability is
presented to the Cambodian people on this very important issue, and in line with the United
Kingdom’s Freedom of Information Act of 2000, we would like to make the following request:
That the Bank of England discloses all the relevant information it has on Cambodian monetary gold
held in the bank, including but not limited to: I. exact amount and value of gold; II. dates it was
deposited into the bank and by whom; III. information on any investments that are being made
with the use of this gold.
 

Thank you for your kind consideration.
Sam Rainsy
Acting president of the CNRP and former Cambodian Minister of Finance.