Hun Sen says adviser defrauded several Cambodians with bribe demands

Ly Samet in an undated photo.

Former Prime Minister Hun Sen said one of his top advisers, Ly Samet, solicited bribes in exchange for favors and government positions and has defrauded several Cambodians over the last two years – including one incident in which US$10 million was paid.

Hun Sen wrote on Facebook on Monday that Ly Samet’s assets should be frozen, and Phnom Penh court officials should issue an order to return money he accepted from people.

“Ly Samet always used my name to cheat people,” he wrote. “He even told people who he had cheated that he had given the money to me.”

Last year, Hun Sen stepped down as prime minister in favor of his son, Hun Manet, but he retains power as Senate president and as head of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CPP.

As party president, Hun Sen appointed Ly Sameth as his personal adviser on Feb. 22, 2022.

The Facebook post was apparently prompted by a video message he received from Kan Sok Kay, the recently appointed governor of Kandal province’s Lvea Em district, which is located across the Mekong River from Phnom Penh.

Kan Sok Kay said he gave US$30,000 to Ly Samet to get the appointment, according to Hun Sen.

“I have signed, appointed and promoted tens of thousands of civil servants and members of the Armed Forces,” Hun Sen wrote. “I never accepted intervention from anyone, no matter what request or bribe.”

Ranked near bottom

Cambodian opposition leaders – many of them now exiled – have long criticized the government for its widespread corruption. Last year, Transparency International placed Cambodia near the bottom of its annual global rankings for public sector corruption.

Additionally, the country’s judiciary continues to be criticized for its lack of independence.

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen delivers a speech to passengers after they disembarked from the MS Westerdam in Sihanoukville, Feb. 14, 2020. (Heng Sinith/AP)

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Hun Manet issued a sub-decree removing Kan Sok Kay from his district governor position, saying he had committed serious violations of the Law on the General Statute of Civil Servants.

The US$10 million bribe involved an individual named Sok Leng who handed the money to Ly Samet in 2022, Hun Sen wrote on Facebook. Word got back to Hun Sen through his adopted child, Try Sokha.

“Then I realized it and I demanded that Ly Sameth return all of the money to Sok Leng,” he wrote.

Hun Sen encouraged all others who gave money to Ly Sameth to file legal complaints, and he ordered his lawyer to coordinate the recovery of any lost funds.

Police officers went to Ly Samet’s house on Tuesday morning, but he wasn’t at home, Phnom Penh Municipal Police spokesperson Sam Vichheka told Radio Free Asia. Authorities haven’t charged Ly Sameth, but investigators are working on the case, he said.

RFA was unable to reach Ly Sameth for comment on Tuesday.

The large-scale corruption outlined in Hun Sen’s post should be investigated by the government’s Anti-Corruption Unit, said Sek Socheat, an adviser to Mindset Development and Research, a Phnom Penh NGO.

Translated by Sum Sok Ry. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.

 

By:RFA