CPP Targets Illicit Activities Exploiting Names of Top Leaders

Phnom Penh, Jan. 6, 2026 (KPT)— Cambodian authorities and the ruling party have warned that individuals using the names of senior party leaders to cover up illegal activities will face strict legal action.

Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) spokesperson Chea Thyrith said anyone exploiting the names of Samdech Techo Hun Sen, party president, or Samdech Hun Manet, party vice president, to protect illicit business dealings will be among the first targeted.

The statement followed the detention and extradition of Chinese businessman Chen Zhi, who was handed over to China the same day. Chea Thyrith wrote on the party’s official Facebook page:

“Any individual who breaks the law, regardless of their position, cannot escape legal accountability. Those who attempt to link their actions to the leadership in order to protect or hide their illegal activities are the primary targets that the ruling party will clean up.”

Cambodia’s Interior Ministry said Chen, along with two other Chinese nationals, Xu Ji Liang and Shao Ji Hui, was detained following months of joint investigations with Chinese authorities. Chen’s Cambodian nationality had been revoked by royal decree in December 2025 in accordance with national law.

Chen, 37, has been indicted in the United States on fraud and money-laundering charges, accused of running internet scams from Cambodia that allegedly stole billions in cryptocurrency.

The U.S. Treasury Department seized about $14 billion worth of bitcoin linked to him, one of the largest financial takedowns in history, and the United Kingdom has sanctioned his Prince Group business empire.

Earlier, in October 2025, Prime Minister Hun Manet said the leadership had ordered the arrest of an individual attempting to sell falsified airport land documents, forging signatures of senior officials, highlighting the government’s ongoing crackdown on corruption and illegal business activities.