PHNOM PENH On the edges of Boeung Tamok, Phnom Penh’s largest lake, 25-year-old Kong Khun sheltered from the late June heat in a bamboo hut. Despite clear skies, Khun wasn’t out on the water fishing with his family. There is little point, he said. An almost endless convoy of trucks carrying sand, rocks and […]
Phnom Penh Post
One of Cambodia’s wealthiest families with close ties to Prime Minister Hun Sen late last year acquired a British payment services provider, Connectum Limited. That company generates millions of dollars in revenue each year, serving as an intermediary between small businesses and major credit card firms like Visa and MasterCard.
Heng Sokha, wife of former Transport Ministry secretary of state Ing Bun Hoaw, took ownership of Connectum in November 2020. Experts say that should raise red flags for British financial regulators.
For one thing, Heng Sokha’s spouse is a former lawmaker and top official who should be subjected to additional scrutiny over the sources of wealth because of his links to the Cambodian government that date back decades. Bun Hoaw has previously leveraged government connections for profitable enterprises such as collecting tolls on the U.S.-government-funded Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville highway.
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By Jack Davies and Sovannarith Keo
May 5, 2021
One of Cambodia’s wealthiest families with close ties to Prime Minister Hun Sen late last year acquired a British payment services provider, Connectum Limited. That company generates millions of dollars in revenue each year, serving as an intermediary between small businesses and major credit card firms like Visa and MasterCard.
Heng Sokha, wife of former Transport Ministry secretary of state Ing Bun Hoaw, took ownership of Connectum in November 2020. Experts say that should raise red flags for British financial regulators.
For one thing, Heng Sokha’s spouse is a former lawmaker and top official who should be subjected to additional scrutiny over the sources of wealth because of his links to the Cambodian government that date back decades. Bun Hoaw has previously leveraged government connections for profitable enterprises such as collecting tolls on the U.S.-government-funded Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville highway.