The director and  manager of the International Green Energy Company (IGE) had been charged on Friday by the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court with fraud and forging a public document, an official said yesterday.

Chief prosecutor Phan Vannarath said IGE director Oum Sam Ang, 49, and company manager Soeum Syden, 43, were being detained at the provincial prison, where they will await trial.

“They face many accusations, but for now the court has charged them with two crimes: fraud and forging a public document. We are still investigating the other cases,” Phan said.

“We will bring them to court later for questioning relating to the other accusations.”

Phan declined to comment on the nature of the other alleged crimes.

Under the Cambodian penal code, fraud carries a penalty of six months to three years in prison, plus a one- to six-million riel fine.

Forging a public document is punishable by five to 10 years in prison.

Om Yentieng, president of the Anti-Corruption Unit, which was responsible for the pair’s arrest, said they were picked up in Phnom Penh in relation to allegations they had forged land documents in Banteay Meanchey in 2007.

The ACU’s investigation had been conducted over eight months, he said.  

Yentieng, however, declined to comment in detail about the case.

“I do not have their documents in my hand. I could not say anything about their cases,” he said.

“They’re now in the court’s hands. Let the court work on it.”

Neither Sam Ang and Syden nor their defence lawyer could be reached for comment yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Buth Reaksmey Kongkea at [email protected]