The Kampot Provincial Court has charged realty businessman Chea Saron and his eight accomplices with aggravated fraud.

Authorities alleged that Saron cheated more than 2,000 families out of some $40 million with bogus real estate development deals.

Saron, who held the honorific Oknha, and his accomplices were detained on April 27, while representatives from banks and micro-finance institutions (MFIs) involved in lending money to the victims to invest in the deals are continuing to address the question of "compensation" for the people whom Saron allegedly cheated in exchange for claims against Saron’s liquidated assets, said the provincial police.

According to a court detention order, Saron, 38, was chairman of Chea Saron Realty Co Ltd.

A Kampot native from Chhouk district, Saron has been placed under court supervision while awaiting trial for the crime of aggravated fraud committed within the province.