An opposition lawmaker is urging Cambodia’s government to take firm legal action against a group of well-connected tycoons accused of deceiving the public through widespread sales of so-called air land and air houses. The term refers to real estate projects that collect money from buyers despite having no actual land titles or construction.
Suon Rida, a National Assembly member from the Cambodia National Rescue Party, wrote on Facebook today that several real estate owners have taken large sums from citizens but failed to hand over land or homes as promised. He said these actions amount to clear and deliberate fraud.
According to the opposition official, many Cambodians are not only suffering losses from the alleged schemes but are also being harmed by what he described as the slow response of the country’s justice system.
On November 24, hundreds of people from several provinces, including Ratanakiri, gathered outside the Phnom Penh Municipal Court and briefly blocked the road. They demanded government and judicial intervention to deliver justice in the case of former tycoon Hy Kimhong and his associates, urging authorities to return him to prison.
More than one thousand four hundred people say they were defrauded by Piphup Deimeas, a company headed by Hy Kimhong. They have called on the court to detain him again if he continues to refuse repayment. They say the dispute has dragged on for three years.
Victims say Hy Kimhong signed a thumbprinted agreement promising to repay them if they supported his release during his earlier detention. But since regaining his freedom, they say he has not returned a single dollar. They also accuse him of hiding assets by transferring properties into the names of relatives and of threatening to have complainants jailed.
Speaking to the crowd, Phnom Penh Municipal Court deputy president Tith Sothi Borachat said the court will process the complaint according to legal procedure, but cannot issue an arrest warrant immediately. He said the process requires time and evidence and urged victim representatives such as Mao Ratana, Oung Kimsreng, and Pech Rothany to provide full documentation.
Hy Kimhong and fourteen bodyguards were arrested in August 2023 at the Piphup Deimeas office in Phnom Penh on fraud allegations linked to more than one thousand complaints and losses exceeding 21 million US dollars. He was released in November 2023 after just over three months in detention. In April 2024, he was stripped of his honorific title following ongoing disputes and unresolved claims.
The case has become one of the country’s largest real estate fraud scandals, with victims demanding accountability and a stronger response to prevent similar schemes in the future.
