Agriculture Ministry Defends Indicted Officials Caught in Monkey-Smuggling Ring

The Agriculture Ministry backed two of its employees who have been charged with smuggling long-tailed macaques — and one of whom was arrested in the U.S. on Wednesday — and said it would make the “utmost efforts” to absolve them.

Agriculture Ministry official Kry Masphal was arrested in New York, U.S., on Wednesday after a federal court issued an arrest warrant for him and another senior ministry official Keo Omaliss. Masphal is Cambodia’s representative to the CITES wildlife convention and deputy director of the wildlife department, whereas Omaliss is the head of the Forestry Administration and REDD+ forest protection program.

CITES, or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is a global treaty that protects against international trade of plants and animals, while REDD+ is a conservation program aimed at reducing emissions from deforestation.

The ministry released a statement Thursday night saying it was “surprised and saddened” at the arrest of Masphal as he was transiting to a CITES conference in Panama. The statement goes on to defend the government, and Masphal’s, work on the export of macaques and adherence to the wildlife trade convention.

The statement included photos of macaques and what appeared to be a monkey farming facility, though its origin was not clear.

“It is a big irony that he, who was going to attend an official meeting at the United Nations forum to protect the endangered species of wild fauna and flora, has been arrested under such alleged conspiracy, while both Cambodia and the USA, maintain good diplomatic relations,” the statement reads. 

The statement also denied that wild primates — as alleged in the U.S. Justice Department indictment — were exported by companies operating in the sector in compliance with CITES guidelines.

The ministry said the import companies in the U.S. should be held responsible for complying with U.S. procedures. The indictment did not make mention of the recipients of the macaques, only that they were headed to Miami, Florida.

The two officials were charged alongside six other employees of Vanny Bio Research and linked companies, including company founder Lau Man Sang james, who is Hong Kong resident and was given Cambodian citizenship as per a 2021 Royal Gazette document.

The 27-page indictment, made public after Masphal’s arrest, has 35 points of “overt acts” by the accused that support the Justice Department’s charges. These include emails, bank transfer details and other documents that allege the Agriculture Ministry used its staff to collect wild macaques to aid with Vanny Bio Research’s export orders in return for kickbacks.

The indictment mostly points to Omaliss making promises to capture around 2,000 wild macaques while instructing another official to “work out” population numbers of the species. In another email, Omaliss allegedly said “the Minister” had approved the deal and said payment should be made to the ministry. 

Other documents cited by the Justice Department show a $10,000 expense listed as a “Donation for CPP Party” and talk of the funds allegedly being used for campaign expenses.

The Agriculture Ministry statement does not address any of the accusations in the indictment but throws its support behind the two officials.

“Hence, MAFF and the Royal Government of Cambodia will make our utmost efforts in order to seek justice for our officials, especially those on official duty representing the country according to international conventions,” the statement reads.

Omaliss used to work in the wildlife department a decade ago. The position is now held by Masphal, while Omaliss has moved up to become a senior official at the Agriculture Ministry. The eight defendants face 5 years in prison on one count of conspiracy and 20 years each for seven counts of smuggling.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice