Cambodia's new cabinet is steeped in nepotism

The boards of directors of the subsidiaries of the Pheapimex Group are a who’s who of Phnom Penh elites. Group chair Choeung Sopheap is a confidante both to former Prime Minister Hun Sen and his wife, Bun Rany. Choeung Sopheap’s husband, Lau Ming Kan, ensures their political capital with a seat in the senate.

Choeung Sopheap’s daughter, Choeung Sokuntheavy, is married to Lau Ming Kan’s son, Lau Vann, a Cambodian army general. Their daughter, Lau Jia Zhen, recently solidified the family’s longstanding business ties to Deputy Prime Minister Aun Pornmoniroth by marrying his son, Aun Pornmonireach.

Finance minister since 2013, Aun Pornmoniroth was at one point floated for prime minister, but he was given a deputy prime minister post when Hun Manet got the top job. Aun Pornmoniroth’s wife, Im Paulika, was a shareholder – alongside many Pheapimex clan members – in a Cyprus hotel development as part of a citizenship-by-investment scheme that has since drawn the attention of Cypriot police.

Im Paulika also shares business interests in Singapore and Cambodia with Vou Sopheaktevy, wife to another deputy prime minister, Vongsey Vissoth. Their son, Vongsey Buddhiseth, has a stake in Cam F & B Services Co. Ltd., which is co-owned by Sun Sotha, wife to another deputy prime minister, Sun Chanthol.

Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol, a U.S. citizen and former executive at international auto manufacturer General Motors, was commerce minister from 2013 to 2016, and has since been minister of transport. His now estranged brother-in-law, Khaou Phallaboth, was for a time married to the daughter of Chea Sim, who up until his death in 2015 was president of the National Assembly.

Chea Sim’s sister-in-law, Sakhan Nhem, is wife to former Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Kheng. Their son, Sar Sokha, inherited both roles during the transition of power this August.

Sar Kheng’s adviser, Lav Kang, is a shareholder in Sokimex Investment Group Co. Ltd., once described by opposition figurehead Sam Rainsy as the “financial pillar for the ruling CPP.” A 2019 register of shareholders for the company bears out the claim, featuring family members of Hun Manet and those of former Deputy Prime Ministers Yim Chhay Ly and Tea Banh, among others.

August saw Tea Banh pass the roles of defense minister and deputy prime minister to his son, Tea Seiha, previously a general and governor of Siem Reap province. Since 2006, Tea Seiha has been 15% owner of (Cambodia) Power Transmission Lines Co., Ltd. (CPTL), which builds and operates electrical substations in northwest Cambodia. Fellow directors include Kith Chankrisna, longtime adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Say Samal, whose brother-in-law is Agriculture Minister Dith Tina.

The third and final CPTL director, Se Thma Pich, is business partners with Sarin Baraing, who is in turn in business with Hok Chendavy, wife to Hun Manet’s brother, Director of Military Intelligence Hun Manith.

Cousin Hun Kimleng, meanwhile, is married to Deputy Prime Minister Neth Savouen. Two of their three daughters, Neth Thida Chantima and Neth Thida Vichhuna, were given roles at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the transfer of power. Neth Thida Vichhuna recently married Hem Sovath, an executive with the Royal Group, chaired by Kith Meng, a longtime adviser to Hun Sen.

The three remaining deputy prime ministers are not directly locked into this web of interconnection — though most still have their own familial connections. Koeut Rith, a French-educated law professor, worked his way up the Ministry of Justice, ascending to Justice Minister in 2020.

Deputy Prime Minister Sok Chenda Sophea began his civil service career at the Tourism Ministry in 1993, three years later he married a daughter of then-Governor of Siem Reap and former Deputy Interior Minister Toan Chay. In contrast, Deputy Prime Minister Hang Chuon Naron’s pedigree is more apparent. His father, Hang Chuon, was culture minister in the early 1990s and later a senator, while his daughter is currently employed at the Ministry of Economics.

Even when they’re a step removed from the red thread, this group includes some of the most powerful people in Cambodia. Click the buttons below to reveal the members of each clan displayed in the graphic.

In 2016, Anti-Corruption Unit Chairman Om Yentieng challenged critics to find anyone more capable after appointing his two sons to senior positions in his department.

Defenders of Hun Manet’s new batch of deputy prime ministers may similarly argue that the best men have been chosen for the job.

But in a country of 17 million, what are the odds that seven of the most able candidates would enjoy such longstanding and intimate ties as these?