The gold mine in Preah Vihear province’s Rovieng district which Tith Vuthy planned to use to defraud Chinese investors of millions. Kampuchea Thmey
Tith Vuthy, deputy Kampong Speu provincial governor, is currently in custody. He stands accused of scamming two groups of Chinese investors out of more than one million dollars. The first alleged scam involved mineral exploration licenses in Pailin province, to the tune of $400,000 although the targeted sum was even higher. The second involved a second group of Chinese investors, who claim to have lost as much as $800,000 in a deal that was supposed to secure gold mining rights in Pailin province.
A report from the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) explained that the first scam, for a Pailin exploration license, was the result of a conspiracy by three individuals: Deputy governor Vuthy, military officer Heav Khorn, and Chinese-language translator Ing Saroeun (with the Chinese name of Yin Wemncai).
They accepted $400,000 from a Chinese investor named Li Minchang, half of the amount they told him he needed pay to secure a mining exploration license for a 103.81 square-kilometre area.
The total amount of money was to be paid in three installments: 30 per cent at the application stage, 20 per cent at the mid-way point and the final 50 per cent when the license was granted.
Minchang paid the first two installments, but became suspicious of the three and refused to pay the final $400,000, leading to a rift in the deal.
Due to the non-delivery of the money, Saroeun slandered the Ministry of Mines and Energy, telling the investor that “the ministry has cancelled the license”.
When interrogated by the ACU, the three suspects initially denied any involvement in the scam. It was only when the ACU presented evidence of the $400,000 payment that Saroeun acknowledged that the payments had been made.
After failing to obtain the final $400,000 from the first investor, the group used the same fraudulent documents to target a second Chinese businessman, Pan Yijun. Yijun, a close associate of Minchang, had reportedly helped transfer funds for the first scam.
The ACU report revealed that Vuthy used his position to arrange for the Pailin and PreahVihear provincial authorities to assist with the fraudulent mining permits. The group convinced Yijun to pay $800,000, claiming it was the price for a mining license in Pailin.
Following a complaint by Minchang, a lawyer named Mei Ratrey was authorised to file a criminal lawsuit against the three suspects.
Vuthy, Khorn and Saroeun have since been charged with fraud, abuse of power, falsifying official documents and the use of fake official documents.
The alleged crimes took place across multiple provinces in 2023, including Kampong Speu, Pailin, Stung Treng and Preah Vihear.
Chea Hean, director of the NGO Anti-Corruption, Natural Resource Protection and Civil Rights Protection believed that other officials were almost certainly involved in the case.
He expressed concerns that fraudulent activities such as these could have a severe impact on the Kingdom’s international reputation.
