Thai police have conducted further raids on properties linked to the Cambodian tycoon Kok An, as the fallout from the two nations’ border dispute continues.
According to a report in the Bangkok Post, Cyber Crime Police yesterday raided seven locations in Bangkok and Sa Kaeo province, which borders Cambodia, in their search for two daughters and a son of Kok An, whom Thai authorities accuse of involvement of online scam operations along the two nations’ border.
The raids came a day after the issuing of six arrest warrants, including for three of Kok An’s children: two daughters who police identified as Juree Khlongkijjakol and Phu Chelin and a son named Kittisak. The Interior Ministry has launched an investigation into irregularities in the Thai national ID cards held by Kok An’s children, and Police General Thatchai Pitaneelabutr said yesterday that “any Thai citizens found collaborating would face maximum penalties as traitors.”
Yesterday’s raids came a week after Thai police issued an arrest warrant for Kok An, 71, on charges of money laundering and involvement in a transnational criminal organization. The Thai authorities accuse the tycoon of involvement in online scamming centers operating in buildings he owns in the Cambodian border town of Poipet, including casinos and 18- and 25-story buildings.
On July 8, police searched 19 houses in Bangkok, Samut Prakan, and Chonburi, “looking for evidence and to stop possible transfers of suspect assets,” the Bangkok Post reported. Police say that they seized assets valued at over 1.1 billion baht ($33.8 million) in the raids. Noting that Kok An had left Thailand, police said that they would ask Interpol to issue a Red Notice in an effort to expedite his capture.
Kok An is a prominent tycoon and senator for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) who has strong ties to the border town of Poipet, which has long been a hotbed of casinos and, in recent years, online scamming operations.
The fact that the Thai authorities have been given free rein to investigate one of Cambodia’s wealthiest and most politically connected figures is a clear result of how far relations have deteriorated in recent weeks. The downturn in relations stems from a border dispute, which has intensified since a clash between Thai and Cambodian troops along an undemarcated stretch of the border on May 28.
Relations took a further dive in mid-June, when Cambodia leaked a recording of a phone call between Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Cambodia’s influential former leader Hun Sen. The call was highly embarrassing to Paetongtarn. In the recording, the 38-year-old leader, the daughter of influential former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, appeared to kowtow to Hun Sen, whom she referred to as “uncle.” Paetongtarn also criticized a prominent Thai military commander for inciting anti-government sentiment on the border issue and for being “completely aligned” with her political opponents. The leak, which seems to have been orchestrated by Hun Sen, has destroyed the previously warm relationship between the Shinawatras and the Hun family and is likely to bring Paetongtarn’s prime ministership to a premature end.
In the fallout from the call, Paetongtarn announced a range of border restrictions intended to “combat cyber scams” inside Cambodia, particularly in Poipet, including tighter restrictions on border crossings. Paetongtarn said Thailand would also consider blocking exports of goods that could facilitate scam operations in Cambodia and will coordinate with other countries and international agencies to clamp down on cybercrime.
This has since spiraled out into rare mutual accusations of involvement in criminal activity. In a televised interview last week, Thaksin suggested that Hun Sen’s decision to leak the phone call may have been a reaction to Thailand’s crackdown on Cambodia-based scam operations, with the implication that Hun Sen was benefiting from them. Exiled Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy has said much the same thing, alleging that Thailand’s crackdown is a “growing threat to the illicit revenue streams that sustain [Hun Sen’s] power – namely, criminal syndicates controlled by the Chinese mafia and operating along Cambodia’s borders.”
Hun Sen returned fire this week. “I urge Thai politicians to stop blaming Cambodia without evidence, while turning a blind eye to their own country, which has become a haven for scam syndicates, drug traffickers, and money-laundering networks,” Hun Sen said in a post on his Facebook page.
Despite Hun Sen’s claim, there is considerable evidence that Cambodia has been and remains a hub of online scamming operations, including recent reports by Amnesty International and the Humanity Research Consultancy (HRC), in addition to a growing corpus of media reporting. Indeed, Kok An is just one of a list of Cambodian tycoons and officials that these reports allege are involved, indirectly or otherwise, in online fraud operations. Ly Yong Phat, another tycoon and CPP senator with a strong presence on the Thai border, has been sanctioned by the U.S. government for his involvement in online scamming operations.
The Cambodian government has consistently denied any involvement in scamming operations, which it said it is taking steps to eradicate the operations. Today, Prime Minister Hun Manet issued a directive ordering every province to investigate and eliminate online fraud operations within its respective boundaries.
The fact that Thailand’s investigation into Kok An and the provenance of his considerable riches only followed a sharp deterioration in relations with Phnom Penh suggests that the Thai crackdown will only extend so far. Partly this is to do with the transnational nature of corruption in mainland Southeast Asia. Given his prominence in Poipet, and the extent of his Thai assets, Kok An clearly has close and influential friends inside Thailand. As Jacob Sims, the author of the recent HRC report, wrote in these pages yesterday, “Thailand’s own elites are enmeshed with Cambodia’s, so this knife of accountability will likely only cut so deep.”
It is also the case that such accusations may soon evolve into a negative-sum game. It is rare for the region’s leaders to accuse each other of corruption, if only because so few of them can claim credibly to be free from such associations. The two sides may well soon come to realize that both stand to lose if they continue to exchange such accusations so publicly. It would therefore be no surprise if this ends up marking the low point of the current crisis.