New York, Thursday, September 26, 2024 – The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Cambodian senator and businessman Ly Yong Phat, along with his businesses L.Y.P. Group and O-Smach Resort.
The sanctions are based on allegations of running cryptocurrency and cyber scams involving trafficked labor.
According to OFAC, the senator’s businesses are involved in severe human rights violations, specifically the exploitation of trafficked workers in online scam operations.
Victims, often forced laborers, were reportedly subjected to physical and mental abuse while conducting crypto-related scams.
The TD says that scams involved creating fictitious identities to deceive individuals into investing in virtual currency or foreign exchange schemes. These fraudulent activities were primarily orchestrated by criminal organizations in Southeast Asia.
The Treasury Department also sanctioned several other businesses linked to Ly Yong Phat, including Garden City Hotel, Koh Kong Resort, and Phnom Penh Hotel, for their involvement in similar activities.
The US State Department’s 2023 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report had earlier highlighted Cambodia’s ongoing issues with trafficking, particularly in the towns of O’Smach and Koh Kong, where forced labor in scam operations is rampant.
