chan sarun

Description

Evidence suggests that some of these senior officials are directly responsible for corruption within the institutions that they head: • There is substantial evidence that Chan Sarun and Ty Sokhun have illegally sold 500 or more jobs in the Forest Administration. • Officials have calculated that selling jobs netted Chan Sarun more than US$2.5 million in bribes. • The desire to recoup the costs of purchasing these positions appears to account for the increasingly corrupt behavior of many FA officials. • Corruption and collusion in forest crime are both covered by existing Cambodian law and punishable by prison sentences and fines. No senior official has yet been either charged or disciplined in connection with the sale of jobs or the illegal logging in Prey Long, however. Hun Sen's private army is financed through illegal logging and smuggling: • In transporting illegally-logged timber out of Prey Long, the Seng Keang Company has worked closely with Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Brigade 70. Brigade 70 acts as a reserve force for Hun Sen's 4,000 strong Bodyguard Unit. The two units comprise what is essentially a private army controlled by the prime minister. • Aside from its activities in Prey Long, Brigade 70 acts as a nationwide timber trafficking service. It transports illegally-logged timber all over Cambodia and exports significant quantities to Vietnam. • The officer organizing these operations is Brigadier General Hak Mao. His main protectors and patrons include Hun Sen Bodyguard Unit commander Lieutenant General Hing Bun Heang and national head of the military police General Sao Sokha. • Brigade 70's clients are a 'who's who' of major timber barons in Cambodia, including the infamous Pheapimex company run by Hun Sen crony Yeay Phu, as well as government officials and generals. • In the second half of 2006, Brigade 70 was transporting an average of 1,260 m3 illegallylogged timber per week. Through these timber trafficking operations, Hak Mao makes approximately US$1.2 million per year. • Brigade 70 operates a parallel service transporting smuggled goods through ports on Cambodia's south coast, notably Oknha Mong Port, which belongs to Mong Reththy,16 a tycoon who is also a senator for Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP). • The Brigade 70 illegal timber and contraband trafficking operations combined are worth between US$2 million and US$2.75 million annually. • The profits are used to pay for the operations of Brigade 70 itself. In addition, a large cut is handed over to Hun Sen Bodyguard Unit commander Lieutenant General Hing Bun Heang. • These activities are covered by existing Cambodian law and are punishable by prison sentences and fines. To date none of those responsible have been prosecuted. • Despite the evidence of entrenched criminality within the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces international donors such as China and the USA are now providing direct military assistance to Cambodia.