Background
Cambodia’s anti-corruption framework requires certain officials and designated persons to file asset and debt declarations under the Law on Anti-Corruption. The declaration system is a formal compliance mechanism intended to create a record of reportable assets and liabilities within a legally defined filing cycle.
Article 20 of the Law on Anti-Corruption provides that each declarant’s asset and debt declaration file must be kept in the strictest confidentiality. The law also allows the declaration to be stored in electronic form with password protection or in two paper copies prepared according to the Anti-Corruption Unit’s prescribed format, with one copy retained by the declarant and one by the Anti-Corruption Unit in sealed envelopes bearing official signatures, stamps, and the declarant’s fingerprint.
In Cambodia, the Anti-Corruption Unit administers the receipt and custody of asset and debt declarations as part of the country’s integrity and public-sector compliance system. Periodic filing data published by the authority can indicate the progress of submissions during a declaration cycle, but the underlying personal declaration documents remain subject to legal confidentiality requirements.
Scope of Application
The update concerns the 2026 two-year asset and debt declaration cycle administered by the Anti-Corruption Unit. It relates to persons required to submit declarations under Cambodia’s anti-corruption law and to the handling, receipt, and custody of those declaration documents by the competent authority.
Key Provisions or Decisions
According to the Anti-Corruption Unit, Deputy Head Khoy Limhong, who oversees audit work and asset and debt declaration work, referred to Article 20 on the storage of asset and debt declaration documents. The provision states that each individual declaration file is to be maintained in the strictest secrecy.
The authority restated that declarations may be filed in electronic form with password protection or in two paper copies using the format set by the Anti-Corruption Unit. For paper filings, the documents are placed in two separate sealed envelopes, with one copy retained by the individual declarant and the other kept by the Anti-Corruption Unit.
The Anti-Corruption Unit reported that, as of 11:00 a.m. on 4 January 2026, it had received 7,497 asset and debt declaration submissions, equal to 37.69% of the total 19,887 persons required to declare in the 2026 cycle. The Department of Asset and Debt Declaration said its team would continue receiving declaration documents seven days a week, including weekends and public holidays, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Implications for Investors, Businesses, or Compliance
The update is relevant for compliance monitoring because it confirms both the legal confidentiality standard governing declaration files and the administrative status of the current filing cycle. Organizations, public bodies, and individuals affected by declaration obligations may use the notice as a reference for filing procedures, document format, and submission availability.
The reported submission rate also provides a dated administrative benchmark for tracking implementation of Cambodia’s asset and debt declaration regime during the 2026 reporting period. The notice does not announce a new legal rule, but it restates an existing statutory requirement and gives an official progress update on filings.
Official Source
Anti-Corruption Unit announcement dated 4 January 2026, citing Article 20 of the Law on Anti-Corruption and reporting receipt statistics for the 2026 two-year asset and debt declaration cycle. Source: official ACU post. Declaration forms are available through the Anti-Corruption Unit’s website at www.acu.gov.kh or directly from the ACU office in Phnom Penh, as stated in the notice.
