Cambodia rejects U.S reports that Cambodia is a safe haven for money launderers

By Khmerization
Source: DAP News

A Cambodian official rejected outright the U.S State Department report which said Cambodia is a popular and a safe haven for international money laundering, reports Deum Ampil.

Mr. Phay Siphan (pictured), spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said the reports were wrong and did not reflect the truth in today's Cambodia. He saidmoney laundering is an international problem and it is wrong for the U.S to attack only Cambodia through such report. "The attack (on Cambodia) is not a solution because money laundering is an international issue. So, the attack on Cambodia is not fair at all", he said.

A U.S State Department report said Cambodia has become a major country of concern for money laundering. The report stressed that money laundering happened through human trafficking, drug trafficking and through corruption.

Phan Ho, secretary general of government’s independent financial intelligence unit, acknowledged cases of money laundering, but he said most of the money came from outside the country. “So money laundering mostly comes from outside. The money laundering in our country derived from criminal acts is very small”, he said.

Khieu Sopheak, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, said the US report had “no evidence” saying that "the report only aims to destroy Cambodia’s reputation.”