The nephew of former Prime Minister Hun Sen has threatened to sue a prominent businessman who alleged that US$9 million was stolen from a Chinese investor who sought government approval for a mine.
Hun To posted an open letter on social media on Wednesday in response to accusations made by Heng Sithy, a businessman who filed a complaint with Cambodia’s Ministry of Justice on Jan. 5.
Hun To stated that Heng Sithy’s comments in the complaint and on social media were “untrue, misleading, malicious and defamatory.” He also said he was “ready to file a counterclaim and fight a legal battle with Heng Sithy.” His letter was also published by the government-aligned Fresh News online news site.
Heng Sithy’s complaint alleged that Hun To accepted the $9 million from Chinese businessman Sun Ruifeng but never followed up with promised support for the proposed mine in eastern Mondulkiri province.
Heng Sithy also posted a statement on Facebook on Thursday, denying Hun To’s allegation that Heng Sithy had threatened to kill Hun To. Heng Sithy pointed out that Hun To has the protection of Hun Sen and top state institutions.
“Since you were a child, Hun To, you have been a bad person who did not go to school, did not know how to read, abused people, kidnapped their daughters, stole their systems, abused businessmen and lured them to your house to drink,” he wrote in the statement.
“In Cambodia, no one dares to threaten to kill you.”
RFA was unable to reach Hun To or Heng Sithy for comment on the allegations.
Family fixer
Hun To is the cousin of Prime Minister Hun Manet and has long been viewed as the family’s fixer for some of its business interests.
Last year, he settled a defamation lawsuit with The Australian newspaper over a story that linked him to human trafficking, cyber scams and drug importation.
He was featured prominently in The Sting, a 2012 book by investigative journalist Nick McKenzie about Australian law enforcement’s attempts to tackle the international drugs trade.
According to McKenzie, Hun To was a target of an Australian police investigation in 2003 into the smuggling of heroin from Cambodia to Australia in timber shipments.
McKenzie claimed Hun To only evaded arrest thanks to the intervention of Australian Embassy officials in Phnom Penh seeking to avoid a diplomatic incident. When confronted with the accusations in 2012, Hun To claimed to have no connections to the drugs trade.
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In July, Hun To scored an apparent victory after he secured an out-of-court settlement over a years-long dispute with The Australian.
The outlet agreed to retract a 2-year-old story it had published about Hun To that “some readers may have understood” to have alleged that he “was linked to human trafficking, cyber scams and drug importation,” the paper wrote.
The retraction marked the conclusion of a defamation case Hun To had brought against The Australian in 2022. It came just after the Australian government had declined to renew his visa, Radio Free Asia reported earlier this year – even though he had spent decades living part-time in the country and he and his family owned extensive business and property interests around Melbourne.
Stripped of okhna title
Heng Sithy said in Thursday’s statement that he was prepared to sue Hun To in the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States and China.
It was unclear how Heng Sithy was connected to Sun Ruifeng and the proposed mine.
As chairman of Phnom Penh-based Maritime Development Group, Heng Sithy donated $1 million to the government during the Covid-19 outbreak and $100,000 to the Cambodian Red Cross in 2022.
But last month he was stripped of his okhna title –- an honorary bestowed upon Cambodians who are involved in business and have been generous with donations to charity or the government. He left Cambodia late last year.
The Ministry of Justice has remained silent on his complaint, which also named several senior officials as being involved in corruption and online gambling in Cambodia.
Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed.