To Suppress Money Laundering Casinos Must Be Closed
By Den Surin
Moneaksekar Khmer
Translated from Khmer
Observers said that although Net Savoeun, deputy director-general of the National Police in charge of the Phnom Penh Police Department, has pledged to suppress all money laundering from Cambodia, no one believes him. This is because money laundering and casinos go together. Since Cambodia is the nest of casinos, how can the competent authorities claim to be able to suppress money laundering in Cambodia? Besides, Cambodia does not have any law against money laundering.
On 12 May, Net Savoeun presided over the ceremony closing a training course on anti-money-laundering expertise for police officers, prosecutors and court officials. This course was sponsored by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Bank.
During this ceremony, Net Savoeun claimed that although Cambodia still does not have a law against money laundering, he pledged to fight the money-laundering crime in this country.
The world is cooperating to combat money laundering because it is connected to many crimes, such as arms running, narcotic trafficking, and terrorism. That is why the world is cooperating against money laundering.
However, in the fight against money laundering, especially the laundering of dirty dollar, the government needs to control the dollar firmly, preventing it from circulating in the market too freely. However, in Cambodia the dollar is moving around freely. It is far more popular than the riel. It is because of this point that those in the dark society can easily launder dirty money. Besides, Cambodia is a big gambling den plying all sorts of betting facilities, such as casinos, electronic gaming machines, ball-match betting bookies, lotteries, and so on.
It is through these gambling activities that the people in the dark society launder their dirty money. However, if the state could control all of that, the felons would not be able to launder their money at all. In the past, there was news that a Cambodian tycoon who also owned a casino in Cambodia tried to launder money in a casino in Melbourne, Australia. He failed because the Australian authorities had a tight control on their casino; they knew how much money came in and how much it went out. In Cambodia, however, the casinos are completely under the control of the private sector and some casino owners even are senators, such as Kok An and Li Yong Phat. Therefore, money laundering is difficult or impossible to prevent. This is because the casino owners sit in the country's top legislative house.
Therefore, Net Savoeun's pledge to suppress money laundering in Phnom Penh is nothing but another lip service. It is not true that Net Savoeun can do it.
On 12 May, Net Savoeun presided over the ceremony closing a training course on anti-money-laundering expertise for police officers, prosecutors and court officials. This course was sponsored by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Bank.
During this ceremony, Net Savoeun claimed that although Cambodia still does not have a law against money laundering, he pledged to fight the money-laundering crime in this country.
The world is cooperating to combat money laundering because it is connected to many crimes, such as arms running, narcotic trafficking, and terrorism. That is why the world is cooperating against money laundering.
However, in the fight against money laundering, especially the laundering of dirty dollar, the government needs to control the dollar firmly, preventing it from circulating in the market too freely. However, in Cambodia the dollar is moving around freely. It is far more popular than the riel. It is because of this point that those in the dark society can easily launder dirty money. Besides, Cambodia is a big gambling den plying all sorts of betting facilities, such as casinos, electronic gaming machines, ball-match betting bookies, lotteries, and so on.
It is through these gambling activities that the people in the dark society launder their dirty money. However, if the state could control all of that, the felons would not be able to launder their money at all. In the past, there was news that a Cambodian tycoon who also owned a casino in Cambodia tried to launder money in a casino in Melbourne, Australia. He failed because the Australian authorities had a tight control on their casino; they knew how much money came in and how much it went out. In Cambodia, however, the casinos are completely under the control of the private sector and some casino owners even are senators, such as Kok An and Li Yong Phat. Therefore, money laundering is difficult or impossible to prevent. This is because the casino owners sit in the country's top legislative house.
Therefore, Net Savoeun's pledge to suppress money laundering in Phnom Penh is nothing but another lip service. It is not true that Net Savoeun can do it.
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