About 80 people who turned up at an office building in the capital’s Tuol Kork district on Monday to demand the return of their investment funds walked away disappointed, after being told the firm supposedly based there had been shuttered for months.

Investment Consultation Association (ICA) closed up shop six months ago, said Boeung Salang commune police chief Kim Kolydo, even though one protester produced a letter from ICA dated June 16. The letter pledged help in getting money back for people who invested with its partner EBC.

ICA and EBC (aka Empire Big Capital) along with the ASEAN Instrument Foundation promised investors monthly returns of 10 per cent. In May 2015, the Securities Exchange Commission of Cambodia accused the Hong Kong-based trio of operating illegally.

“We came to get the money that ICA had promised, but the association had shut down,” said Chea Veasna, adding that the group had sold investment packets worth up to $2,100, with some buying several.

Veasna said the spurned investors will now march to the Interior and Commerce ministries, the Chinese Embassy and the premier’s office to seek compensation.