Cambodian senator denies links to scam centers after US sanctions

PHNOM PENH: A Cambodian senator sanctioned by Washington said on Tuesday he did not know about scamming after the United States alleged that scam compounds in his country had defrauded Americans of millions of dollars.
Senator Kok An and his affiliates were said to have operated “out of casinos and office parks retrofitted for fraudulent activity,” laundered victims’ funds and provided a base to target US citizens, the US Treasury Department said in a statement last week.
Besides Kok An, 28 people and entities were also targeted by the Treasury.
“Southeast Asian scam operators within this network have stolen millions of dollars from US victims while operating under the protection of Kok An and his political connections,” the Treasury said on Thursday, calling the senator a “scam center kingpin.”
Kok An is a member of Cambodia’s long-time ruling party and runs a business called Crown Resorts, which owns casinos and other buildings in Cambodia.
He rejected the allegations in an interview with the RFI Khmer radio service on Tuesday, and denied that most of the sanctioned firms belonged to him and that his companies scammed Americans.
“I do not know about scamming. I am a senator,” Kok An told the outlet.
He acknowledged owning the Crown casino but said “no scam activities” occurred there.
The US State Department charged in a separate statement that “Kok An and his associates have operated and profited from scam compounds that... often use human trafficking victims who are forced to commit unlawful acts under the threat of violence.”
Kok An is listed as the chairman of seven firms on the Cambodian commerce ministry’s business registry that were sanctioned, and as a former chairman of one other sanctioned company.
Cambodia has emerged as a hub for the cyberscam industry in recent years, with transnational crime groups stealing tens of billions of dollars annually from victims around the world.
Monitors accused senior Cambodian officials of complicity — allegations the government has denied.