Hun Sen linked to BHP deal: report

Thief of Cambodia

03/26/2013
Source: http://www.businessspectator.com.au/

A BHP Billiton Ltd mining deal being probed for alleged corruption was overseen by Cambodian strongman Hun Sen, sensitive diplomatic cables reveal, according to The Australian Financial Review.

The miner's abandoned attempt to establish a bauxite mine in Cambodia and its hospitality program for Chinese officials at the 2008 Beijing Olympics are at the heart of a foreign bribery investigation run by Australian Federal Police and the US Justice Department.

The newspaper reported that the "protected" diplomatic cables showed the Cambodian Prime Minister’s close involvement in 2006 negotiations with BHP executives, including his promises of ‘‘a possible tax holiday’’ and that he would give ‘‘BHP one million hectares of land’’.

Hun Sen has dismissed reports suggesting BHP was involved in bribery in Cambodia.

Earlier this month it was revealed a US Justice Department Investigation into BHP's sponsorship of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games had discovered "suspicious transactions that had been recorded as legitimate business payments" by the miner.

The mining gaint said it has been cooperating with the relevant authorities in an investigation into possible violations of anti-corruption laws.