Another oknha caught behaving badly:
Oknha and Accomplices Arrested for $40M Fraud
Cambodia News, (Kampot): Yesterday, Kampot Provincial Police announced the arrests of Tycoon Chea Saran and eight accomplices for defrauding people of nearly $ 40 million.
A Kampot police spokesman said that Duke Chea Saran and his cronies cheated 2,461 families of a total sum of almost US$40 million.

Kampot Provincial Police Commissioner confirmed that the arrest of Oknha Chea Saran and the eight other men took place on April 22, 2023, and they are being held in custody.
- CEN

CEO News is looking for more information on what appears to be a massive scam affecting primarily poor families, many of them have borrowed the money which they "invested" with Chea Saron, so they also have a loan and interest to pay off in addition to money lost to the Chea Saron Group.

Chea Saron is a real estate tycoon, but the Chea Saron Group includes other types of business, such as the Chea Saron Pawnshop and the Investment company shown below, and for the moment, we are not sure of the exact conditions of the embezzlement.
It seems to be connected with investing in plots of land, where ownership land titles were not delivered after payment as promised, but we will keep you updated when more details are available in the local press or on social media.

According to sources, on April 22, 2023, Duke Chea Saron was taken for questioning at Kampot Provincial Police on the direct orders of Mr. Mao Thunin, Governor of Kampot province. There will be more details posted later; meanwhile, if anyone has any further information on this topic, please share.

Shocking. Oknha Chea Saron was encouraging poor people to take out loans to invest their money with him, promising them impossibly huge returns on their investment. Chea Saron Real Estate Company representatives encouraged poor people with no cash to put up their homes and land as collateral for bank loans to invest in his company, even though Saron must have known that there was a strong possibility that his investors would not be repaid.
This is a shocking example of exploitation of the poor and financially ignorant by a person in a position of power. Let us hope that this scam will not be swept under the carpet.

April 24, 2023
Investment gone bad: Kampot Tycoon arrested after villagers lose more than $40 million
Kampot provincial police on Saturday arrested a well-known real estate tycoon and influencer and his eight associates over an investment scheme which caused over 5,000 families to lose more than $40 million.

However, the arrest of Chea Saron, the owner of Chea Saron Realty Co, Ltd and his associates, appears to be controversial given its unusual circumstances.

Saron has been renowned for his portrayal as a “generous oknha” who was keen on sharing success tips on the property sector.
Kampot Provincial Governor Mao Thonin addresses villagers during the public forum on Saturday. Kampot Provincial Hall

However, in the past week, a number of people, mostly in Kampot and Takeo provinces, went online and accused him of cheating them after his company, which is based in Kampot’s Chhouk district, failed to give them the high returns that were promised after he and his staff persuaded them to invest in it.

The investors said that Saron promised lucrative returns up to over 50% of the principal, causing many of them to apply for loans from financial institution in addition to their savings to invest in the company.

However, they alleged that later the promise was not fulfilled, and to make matters worse, those who took bank loans are now having to service the interest.

The issue became so heated that Kampot Provincial Governor Mao Thonin on Saturday called for a public forum between the company and the investors to find a practical solution.

During the meeting, many participants accused Saron of cheating them out of their money and attempting to escape the responsibilities.

Among them were also the disabled and retirees without a stable source of income who claimed that the company had acted as the guarantor when they went to the banks and microfinance institutions for loans.

Facing his investors and the governor, Saron accepted responsibility but blamed economic recession for his company’s financial calamity.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501277906/ ... 0-million/

Cambodia News, Kampot Province: After the arrest of Duke Chea Saran and his accomplices, on April 24, 2023, hundreds of people came forward to file a complaint with police officers at the Commissariat of Kampot Province, accusing Chea Saran, the owner of the Saran Group company, of fraud.



Sources from the provincial authorities said that hundreds of villagers from the nine districts, who have been deceived into buying fake plots of land, came to lodge complaints after they heard that Oknha Chea Saran and his company managers were being questioned by Kampot police.

On April 22, 2023, the dispute between the people and Chea Saran was mediated by Mr. Mao Thunin, Governor of Kampot Province, requiring the company to be responsible for all the debts that people may have with the banks and personal money must also be paid back by the Saran Group company.



Due to the number of plaintiffs, the authorities will re-file the list of complaints in order to determine which citizens paid with bank loans and which people paid with their own money.All details must be verified to avoid the possibility of fraud by opportunists.

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Tue Apr 25, 2023 12:03 pm who the fuck buys a "fake plot of land" dont they at least go look at the land before handing over $$$

What makes you believe they didn't look at the plots? Fake can just mean they didn't get proper deeds. Jumping to conclusions shows your lack of common sense.