Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday that he initiated the arrest in December of two men from a Phnom Penh-based property firm who allegedly fabricated documents claiming ties to the United Nations, the United States government and HSBC Bank.

Speaking in Banteay Meanchey province yesterday, Hun Sen said that he ordered the investigation into Ray C Dam, the chairman of ARP-OITC Group Co Ltd, and his executive managing director, Soush Saroeun, after receiving information about the case.

“When I got the information, I ordered the investigation to the US Embassy,” said Hun Sen. “I found out that he really cheated and then sent the case to the court and now he is in prison.”

The Post reported in December that materials of the Office of International Treasury Control – of which ARP-OITC is a subsidiary – made false claims about the group and identified Ray C Dam as an economics adviser to US presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court in December charged Ray C Dam and Soush Saroeun with several counts of forgery.

Municipal Court deputy prosecutor Sok Roeun said yesterday that the case was in the hands of the investigating judge.