A lawyer who once represented controversial Russian businessman Nikolai Doroshenko was disqualified by the Cambodian Bar Association on Monday.

Bar Council president Bun Honn said yesterday that Sun Sam Ol had been disbarred but would not specify why.

“The reason why we disbarred [him is] because he broke the bar rules and articles – the Law on the Bar and the ethic code of the lawyer,” Honn said. “I cannot mention which article, because of the confidentiality of the bar.”

Sam Ol, who joined the bar in 2010, could not be reached for comment yesterday. However, Bun Thoeun, a former colleague of Sam Ol and brother of Honn, said one of Sam Ol’s clients had made a complaint to the Bar Association.

“We don’t know clearly about the client, but I heard they were from Korea; maybe some problem with money,” Thoeun said.

Nary Prom, an employee of an accounting firm where Sam Ol had previously shared office space, said the lawyer had developed a bad reputation in recent years.

“I heard some bad news about him, he cheated other people,” Prom said. “I don’t know who.”

Last January, Sam Ol represented Sihanoukville businessman Nikolai Doroshenko in a legal battle with Sergei Polonsky, a millionaire expat extradited to his native Russia to face embezzlement charges four months later.

The spat between the two Russians – which escalated into allegations of assassination attempts and a car bombing – was widely believed to have been a trigger for National Police chief Neth Savoeun telling foreign ambassadors that “foreign mafia” are not welcome in the Kingdom.