Huns reject claims of Cambodian family riches

Huns reject claims of Cambodian family riches

The Cambodian government and the children of Prime Minister Hun Sen have dismissed accusations by an anti-corruption pressure group that the "first family" has amassed US$200 million (about 7 billion baht) in business interests including some with links to land grabs and environmental destruction.

The accusations, in a report by the group Global Witness, comes during a period of rising political tension between the veteran prime minister and the opposition hoping to challenge his grip on power in local elections in 2017 and a general election in 2018.

Global Witness, in its report titled Hostile Takeover, said Hun Sen's family owns or partly controls companies with listed capital of more than $200 million. That is likely to be a fraction of the real fortune they hold through shell companies and the use of nominee owners, the group said.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and wife Bun Rany are said to have amassed a major fortune during their time at the top of the Cambodian political food chain. (AP photo)

Government spokesman Phay Siphan derided the report by a group that has been investigating issues such as illegal logging in Cambodia for decades. "It has no quality," Phay Siphan said. "It is just accusations. The report is personal propaganda against Hun Sen, the elected prime minister."

Global Witness said the companies that Hun Sen's family held interests in had links to well-known global brands. The interests represented "undoubtedly just a fraction of the true value of the family's business holdings".

The family's interests were concentrated in the energy sector, and included fuel retail chains, power plants and renewable energy projects, the group said.

"The domestic companies they are affiliated to (sic) have been accused of a litany of abuses, including the theft of land and natural resources, violence and intimidation against local populations and environmental devastation," it said.

"A huge network of secret deal-making, corruption and cronyism" has helped prop up Cambodia's self-styled strongman, the group said.

The main photo of the Phnom Penh Post's report had this collage, which drew criticism for its ghostly images of the Hun family.

Hun Sen's children hit back on Facebook, with son Hun Manith saying it was "a coordinated attack with a clear agenda... full of mistakes and wrong informations as usual".

In another post, his daughter Hun Mana sarcastically "thanked" Global Witness for its "destructive efforts". "They are all lies and deceitful to confuse the public about what my father has accomplished," she added.

Son Hun Manet also said in a post: "From my recent memory, whenever it is close to an election time, an organisation called Global Witness has come up with very colourful accusations aimed at attacking the government and, in particular, making personal attack on my father...

"It has expanded the scope for their accusation targeting not only against my father, but against every single member of my entire family. So what is next?"

A senior member of the main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, welcomed the publication.

"We all knew it but nobody could really talk about it," party member of parliament Son Chhay said.

"Now it is all public."

Facebook and Twitter screengrabs show some of the comments made on Thursday.

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