The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on September 12 against Ly Yong Phat for his “role in serious human rights abuse related to the treatment of trafficked workers subjected to forced labor in online scam centers.”
But Cambodian corporate documents show that his links to the underworld go even further than those mentioned by the Treasury Department.
Ly was also co-director of a real estate company with Su Yongcan, who has warrants out for his arrest in Singapore and China. Singapore recently issued an Interpol Red Notice for Su Yongcan, asking police around the world to arrest him for his alleged involvement in a $2.2 billion money laundering case.
Like several others who are suspects or have been convicted in the Singapore investigation, Su Yongcan is originally from China but holds Cambodian citizenship.
Jake Sims, a transnational crime expert at the government-supported United States Institute of Peace, said the new information about Ly’s associations with alleged crime figures “strengthens the evidence” presented by the U.S. Treasury Department.
Along with Ly himself, the U.S. sanctioned his main company, L.Y.P Group, and a hotel it owns. The sanctions notice alleged that trafficking victims were forced to work on online scams at the hotel.
In an email, Ly said his company “regrets the news related to the U.S. Treasury and has engaged the services of lawyers.” Ly added that he was involved in a short-lived real estate company with the two alleged crime figures, but the planned venture fell through.
Ly was chair of the board of directors of that company, Xin Yong An Property Co Ltd, Cambodian corporate records show. Su Yongcan was a co-director of the company, along with a man named Su Zhongjian.
Another Chinese national who acquired Cambodian citizenship, Su Zhongjian has an extensive portfolio of controversial businesses and partners.
Neither Su Yongcan nor Su Zhongjian responded to requests for comment sent to contact email addresses they had listed in company documents.
Ly told OCCRP he had limited interaction with Su Yongcan and Su Zhongjian.
“The individuals mentioned were interested in purchasing land for the purpose of condominium development but this transaction did not take place because of deteriorating market conditions,” Ly told OCCRP.
“The company related to these individuals was then closed. Since the closure, our company does not have any knowledge of the company or individuals mentioned,” he added.
Cambodian company records show that Su Zhongjian was a director of a firm called K.B. Hotel. The U.K. sanctioned the company in December 2023 for its alleged involvement in “forced labor at online ‘scam farms’ which enable large-scale fraud.”
"Between 2020 and 2022, K.B. Hotel was operating one of the largest, most notorious and most violent scam compounds in Sihanoukville," said Sims, referring to the coastal Cambodian city that became a hub for Chinese crime groups.
Su Zhongjian also served as a director of M D S Henghe Investment Co Ltd until 2020. That company’s chairman is Try Pheap, who has been sanctioned by the U.S. since 2019 for his alleged involvement in illegal logging and corruption.
Xin Yong An Property – where Ly, Su Zhongjian and Su Yongcan were all directors – was set up in 2019 and has since been dissolved. The company listed its address at the headquarters of L.Y.P Group, Ly’s main firm.
In a September 13 statement, Cambodia’s foreign ministry praised Ly’s “contributions to infrastructure development, job creation and poverty alleviation,” saying the U.S. decision to sanction him was “unjust.”
“The move, based on unconfirmed reports of forced labor linked to online investment scams, (is) politically motivated,” the ministry said.