The U.S. government last week announced new sanctions targeting casino operators in Cambodia for their alleged ties to the cyberscam industry, hitting both their gambling operations and industries beyond that.
The announcement focused on three subjects which the U.S. treasury department accuses of being involved in the cyberscam industry and laundering of its proceeds. Among them were Cambodian Senator and tycoon Kok An and his casino empire, generally called “Crown”; Cambodian tycoon Rithy Rakmsei and his business network including naturalized Cambodian citizens from Myanmar; and the Bolai casino and related properties, run by a Chinese national with naturalized Cambodian citizenship.
“Kok An and his affiliates’ network of scam centers, operating out of casinos and office parks retrofitted for fraudulent activity, launder victims’ funds and provide a base to target U.S. citizens and commit human rights abuses with impunity,” the U.S. said.
Kok An has denied the allegations that he played a role in the online scam industry.
People sanctioned
- Aik Paung: A Myanmar national with naturalized Cambodian citizenship who currently or previously directed 12 companies in Cambodia.
- Kok An: A Cambodian tycoon and senator who is known for his casino properties throughout the country’s border towns as well as his role in the cigarette and water distribution industries. Kok An has also been targeted by Thailand, with authorities putting out a warrant for his arrest and seizing assets of the senator and his family members.
- Luo Hong: A Chinese national with naturalized Cambodian citizenship who is attributed with directing the Bo Lai Casino in Sihanoukville, though he is not a listed director of the company behind it.
- Rithy Raksmei: A Cambodian national who directs K99 Culture and Media Co Ltd and the broader K99 Group brand, which has become associated with alleged scam operations.
- Sai Aung Linn: A Myanmar national with naturalized Cambodian citizenship who currently or previously directed 12 companies in Cambodia.
Casinos
Kok An has said that he was solely a casino operator for Crown properties in Bavet, Chrey Thom, Sihanoukville, Poipet among other locations. He added in an interview that managers rented space in casino properties to businesses including online casinos, in spite of Cambodian law banning online gambling businesses.
A reporter drove through a cluster of Crown casino properties in Poipet city on Thursday, finding them mostly empty but with some signs of operation — like an employee driving a truck with Crown Casino on the side panel.
OFAC also alleges that the K99 Group was connected to the Nan Hai and Xi Hu casinos, two contiguous properties near Sihanoukville’s Independence Beach. Rithy Raksmei is not a director of either business, according to the Commerce Ministry database.
In a separate investigation, cybersecurity firms recently traced use of a “malware-as-a-service,” or a hacking service that users can subscribe to steal victims’ data, to a property in Sihanoukville identified as K99 Triumph City, which the report authors linked to Rithy Raksmei. The location of the K99 Triumph City is the same as the casino called Royal Union, which is owned by Royal Union Investment — a company previously listed in the Commerce Ministry as owned by Yim Leak and Rathanak Sambath before it vanished.
Mekong Independent attempted to call listed numbers for the Anco Brothers company, but both phone numbers didn’t work.
Specific entities listed on the sanctions announcement:
- 855 Investment Corporation, which is the registered company of Crown Casino Kampong Som in Sihanoukville.
- Anco Brothers, which is the registered company of Crown Bavet, Crown Chrey Thum and Crown Resorts in Poipet.
- Brilliancy Sihanoukville Investment and Development, which is the registered company of Bolai Casino in Sihanoukville.
- Crown Resorts, which the U.S. appears to use as a general reference to “Crown” branded casinos in cities including Bavet, Poipet, Sampov Poun, etc.
- Nan Hai Real Estate Development, which is the registered company of Nan Hai casino in Sihanoukville.
- Xi Hu International, which is the registered company of Xi Hu casino in Sihanoukville.
- Xing Tian Di, which is the registered company of Xing Tian Di casino in Sihanoukville.
Banking and finance
OFAC sanctioned Heng Feng Cambodia Bank because it “directs customers to collect foreign exchange at Xihu’s casino counters,” according to the document. Xihu had been named in the sanctions for its association with K99 Group and accusations that “gambling companies operating within Xihu have been associated with money laundering linked to organized crime.”
Anco Specialized Bank had not been directly linked to the illicit activity by OFAC but it was flagged because it’s chaired by Kok An.
An annual report for Heng Feng Cambodia Bank reported they earned $6.63 million in profit in 2024, a 200% increase from the previous year, with net assets of $382.16 million.
An employee for Anco Specialized Bank said he couldn’t speak on behalf of the bank, but he said operations have been normal so far. A man who picked up the phone for Heng Feng Cambodia bank said he could not comment. An annual report for Anco Specialized Bank from 2021 – the most recent report on the National Bank’s website – said the company earned $1.8 million in profit that year and had $42 million in assets.
Specific entities listed on the sanctions announcement:
- Anco Specialized Bank
- Heng Feng Cambodia Bank
Water and electricity
Kok An has several businesses in the utilities space, including construction and operation of water supply and electricity. The sanctions announcement did not describe specific issues related to Kok An’s utilities holdings, but mentioned they would be sanctioned because they are chaired by the businessman and senator. OFAC issued an update on the same day, noting that U.S. entities are still permitted to make transactions with Anco “that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the treatment or distribution of drinking water.”
Anco is the company licensed to provide water and electricity in regions across the country, including the cities of Sihanoukville and Poipet for instance. Anco Water Supply last year was warned by the Tonle Sap Authority for illegally filling sections of the Tonle Sap river in Kampong Chhnang province without a permit, but it’s not clear if the company fixed the issue or was forced to pay any fines. A woman who answered the phone for Anco Water Supply’s corporate office in Sihanoukville said she was aware of the sanctions but declined to comment.
Khmer Electrical Power is also a prominent utility firm, most notably operating a diesel power plant in Phnom Penh. In this capacity the company has previously worked with major global corporations like Finland-based power supplier Wärtsilä.
Specific entities listed on the sanctions announcement:
- Anco Water Supply
- Kep Hydropower SVTK and MSRC
- Khmer Electrical Power
- Mekong Potable Water Construction Import Export
Real estate and hotels or short-term accommodation
Several real estate companies were listed for their relationship to different sanctioned individuals.
Most notable among them is the designation of K99 Culture and Media, which is a Cambodia-registered business for real estate and other industries, chaired by Rithy Raksmei and three other Chinese and Cambodian people who were not sanctioned. The company has been linked to the brand K99 Group, which is accused by the U.S. government of running “digital asset investment fraud schemes.”
Fung Yuet Resort Hotel still rents rooms starting at $46 a night, according to listings for this month on Trip.com. Xihu and Nanhai hotels, which also have casinos, had listings starting at $120 and $75, respectively.
Specific entities listed on the sanctions announcement:
- Aurum
- Fung Yuet Resort Hotel
- Heng Feng Group
- Huan Hai Bo Lai International Investment
- K99 Culture and Media
- Khemreah
- Xiong Wei Investment
- Xiong Wei Real Estate Development
Miscellaneous
- A Wee Trading
- Kaissa Travel
- SSDD Construction Material
Response
Kok An spoke publicly to RFI Khmer and Kiripost following the announcement, denying the allegations that he played a role in the online scam industry.
“I do not have any concerns because I have done nothing wrong,” he told RFI Khmer.
Kok An continued that he was only aware of the casino businesses, and denied any knowledge of online fraud. However he said in the interview that some managers in his casinos rented to online casinos, which were banned in Cambodia via a 2019 mandate effective in 2020.
“For me [and] Crown casinos, there have been no fraud issue,” he said. “Each month and year, the authority who controls the casino licenses always checks mine, and in regard to the fraud of U.S.’s citizens out of a million dollars, it is only the U.S. that knows about it…but I absolutely deny about the fraud and I have no idea about it.”
Kok An added that he stopped renting space to businesses after the Interior Ministry’s January regulations penalizing residence owners for hosting improperly documented foreigners.
Mekong Independent also attempted to contact Kok An’s businesses as well as businesses of the four other people on the sanctions list. Some acknowledged that they were aware of the sanctions, but most declined to comment.