Cambodia condemns US sanctions on prominent tycoon linked to forced labor » Singapore News

CAMBODIA: Cambodia on September 13 condemned the United States for imposing sanctions on the country’s top businessman.

The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs regretted the unjust decision to punish Ly Yong Phat, saying the measure could harm bilateral relations.

Ly Yong Phat is one of the richest men in Cambodia. He is also a senator and a leading member of the Cambodian People’s Party, the ruling party of Prime Minister Hun Manet.

The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on Ly Yong Phat and five of his companies “for their roles in serious human rights violations related to the treatment of workers forced into online investment fraud.”

Victims who are forced to engage in virtual currency investment scams and other online schemes are often lured with fraudulent jobs and promises of free housing.

Instead, they are forced to carry out fraudulent operations for criminal organizations, under appalling working and living conditions,” the department said in a statement.

The measure blocks Ly Yong Phat’s assets in the states and prohibits U.S. entities from doing business with him. Cambodia is a major location for cybercrime and cyberfraud, including the use of dating apps to lure people into making bogus investments.

The Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims the Finance Ministry’s action is based on unconfirmed reports of forced labor linked to online investment fraud and is politically motivated.

The State Department also said the Treasury Department’s report “does not provide a balanced and accurate representation of Cambodia’s steadfast commitment to human rights, law enforcement, and its determined efforts to combat human trafficking and forced labor.”

The ministry also praised Ly Yong Phat for his efforts “to promote Cambodia’s socio-economic development in recent decades”

According to a May report by the Associated Press, a casino run by his company had been robbed twice and people had been rescued, who had been forced to work in call center fraud and illegal activities.

Victims said they were lured to the O-Smach Resort, owned by the LYP Group, which had advertised job openings. Once there, their phones and passports were confiscated and they were forced to participate in the scam.

They reported being beaten, electrocuted, forced to pay large ransoms and threatened with being sold to other scam gangs.

Featured image by Right