Timber Dealer Accuses Firms Of Fraud, Wants Hun Sen’s Help

The director of a Vietnamese company hoping to buy timber off a pair of land concessions has accused three local businessmen of cheating her out of $200,000 and asked Prime Minister Hun Sen to investigate, according to a letter published by local media.

The Rasmei Kampuchea Daily newspaper published a letter on Sunday from Nguyen Thi Tuyet Hoa, director of T.N.H.H. Bich Quynh-Kratie, accusing the businessmen—Taing Chisrun, Heng Hak Mong and Khing Nupheap—of conspiring to sell her the rights to buy and sell timber from a concession in Preah Vihear province and another in Kompong Thom province. She claims that they sold her those rights without having the authority to do so from their companies.

Ms. Hoa said she was at work on the concessions for three months when other officials from the companies showed up and told her to stop.

The letter is addressed to Mr. Hun Sen via the Vietnamese Embassy. “The complaint is filed to request the government to please investigate and review these two economic forest concessions,” the letter reads, going on to accuse the companies of having lied to the government about their intentions to develop the properties.

“The companies did not have the intention to invest in agribusiness and to plant rubber trees and raise animals,” the letter says. “Instead, they clearly aimed to sell the forest and cheat investors.”

Neither Ms. Hoa nor her lawyer could be reached for comment.

One of the companies she accuses of cheating her is the An Mady Group.

The firm’s chairman, An Mady, denied any wrongdoing and said work on his concession in Preah Vihear was underway.

“I am growing 1,000 rubber trees there already,” he said. “What we have done is based on the law.”

Mr. Mady said Khing Nupheap was his son-in-law and refused to take any further questions.

Khing Nupheap declined to comment. Mr. Chisrun and Mr. Hak Mong could not be reached.

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