British Businessman Arrested over Alleged Land Fraud

The British chairman of an embattled agricultural investment firm was arrested Saturday by Cambodian authorities over charges of forging documents and using them in an attempt to illegally purchase thousands of hectares of land, a court prosecutor said. Greg Fryett, the main shareholder of Sustainable Agro Energy PLC, which is being investigated by the U.K’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) over its investments in Cambodia, was arrested at a cafe in Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district, said Phan Thannarot, provincial chief prosecutor in Banteay Menachey province, where the land deals were made. … Through International Green Energy (IGE), Sustainable Agro Energy was meant to use an estimated $11 million in Funds to invest in the cultivation of jatropha , a tree whose seeds can be used to make biodiesel, and return a healthy profit to its investors. However, not a single drop of biofuel has been produced. The SFO has said that it suspects Mr. Fryett of continuing to procure investment after it became clear that operations in Cambodia would not be profitable. … Mr. Fryett … wrote a personal letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen outlining what he called “considerable issues” regarding his attempts to purchase more than 6,000 hectares of land owned by Mao Maly, the wife of Deputy Prime Minister Ke Kim Yan, who was previously commander in chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. …

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