Cambodia Cracked Down on Banks Allegedly Linked to Cyber-Scams. The IMF Says the ...

The U.S. Treasury Department has also flagged such links, slapping sanctions over the past year on Cambodian financial institutions it alleged were laundering money from cyber-scams. Five of those sanctioned institutions were among the six closed down by the NBC.

But at least two other major lenders continue to operate, despite having been owned by well-known Cambodian businessmen accused of links to cyber-fraud operations.

Kok An is a Cambodian senator and tycoon whose business interests have included casinos and resorts, as well as Anco Specialized Bank Ltd. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Kok An in April, alleging that his properties housed “scam centers whose occupants have stolen money from Americans.”

Kok An owned 70 percent of the shares of Anco Specialized Bank, according to the financial institution's 2021 annual report. Reporters were unable to obtain more recent documentation showing current ownership of the bank, which is named after him.

Anco Specialized Bank operates today, and official records show that it holds an active license from the NBC. An Anco representative hung up the phone after being asked the bank's operations post-sanctions.

Reporters were unable to reach Kok An through phone numbers listed for him in corporate records. Speaking to RFI’s Khmer-language service following the U.S. sanctions, Kok An reportedly rejected the allegations and said he did “not know scamming.”

Another institution under scrutiny was previously called B.I.C (Cambodia) Bank Plc, but rebranded last year as iBank (Cambodia) Plc. It was acquired in 2020 by Cambodian tycoon Yim Leak, who is facing allegations of money laundering in neighboring Thailand.

Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office earlier this year froze $590 million in assets linked to Yim Leak and an associate as part of an ongoing investigation. The country’s Securities and Exchange Commission separately filed criminal complaints against Yim Leak in June and August, accusing him of failing to disclose a acquisition and a sale within the required deadline.

Neither Yim Leak nor iBank responded to requests for .

The NBC did not respond to questions U.S. sanctions, the IMF allegations of potential links between Cambodian banks and criminal groups, and the roles of Kok An and Yim Leak in the financial sector.

Yim Leak has hired Seiden Law, a U.S. firm that said he and his family “are the apparent victims of guilt by association and political persecution.” The firm said in a June statement that Yim Leak had also been falsely identified to the U.S. Congress “as being associated with scam centers in Asia."

Separately, the U.K. Treasury named B.I.C. Bank as a subsidiary to a Cambodian company sanctioned for alleged involvement in cyber-scams and human trafficking.

“Mr. Yim has never been convicted of a crime in any country and is repulsed by illegal cyber-crime centers in Asia. Mr. Yim is also not sanctioned,” Seiden Law stated.

Cambodia’s business registry shows that Yim Leak remains chairman of iBank. Since the rebrand, branches carry iBank signage and the commercial license has been transferred to that name. But the institution’s SWIFT code remains unchanged.

The ongoing presence in the financial system of banks that have been backed by people facing arrest warrants or international sanctions highlights the limits of Cambodia’s clean up efforts, said George McLeod, a partner at the security and intelligence advisory firm Critical Risk Team.

“The United States and other countries continue to pressure Cambodia to strengthen oversight of its banking sector, but meaningful reform has been limited,” he said.