Several Cambodian journalists contributed to this report, but have requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the story.
Rare timber species likely logged from Cambodia’s embattled protected forests have been exported to Vietnam and China for years by Angkor Plywood, one of the country’s most notorious logging companies, Mongabay can reveal.
Over a year-long investigation, Mongabay has acquired documents and testimonies, as well as photo and video evidence, that show Angkor Plywood has been illegally logging timber from Cambodian protected areas and violating various laws by exporting sawn logs internationally. The company has done this for years with impunity, in part due to the connections of the company’s management.
Angkor Plywood was established by its chairman, Chea Pov, a man who has worked his way up Cambodia’s timber business, in 2011 with Taiwanese national Lu Chu Chang. The latter previously headed the Cambodian Timber Industry Association and developed a reputation in the early 2000s for illegally felling protected resin trees belonging to Indigenous communities.
