Cambodia extradites alleged scam kingpin Chen Zhi to China
Cambodia’s Government said on Wednesday it had arrested and extradited to China a tycoon who has been accused of running a huge online scam operation. Cambodia’s Interior Ministry said Prince Holding Group chairman Chen Zhi and two other Chinese citizens were arrested and extradited on Tuesday at the request of Chinese authorities. Chen formerly had dual nationality, but his Cambodian citizenship was revoked in December, it said.
US prosecutors charged Chen in October with conspiracy charges alleging he masterminded a multinational cyberfraud network, used his other businesses to launder its profits and sanctioned violence against workers. Prince had boasted of getting USD 30 million a day from the scams, according to the indictment.
The US Treasury Department and the UK Foreign Office imposed sanctions, while authorities also seized Chen Zhi’s assets, which included properties worth at least $100 million and $14 billion worth in cryptocurrency. Scam centres have proliferated across Southeast Asia, swindling money from victims by persuading them to join bogus investment schemes. According to estimates from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, scam victims worldwide lost between $18 billion and $37 billion in 2023. Growing pressure on Cambodia
The US and UK imposed sanctions against Chen, 38, and his companies’ legitimate involvements, which were primarily involved in real estate development and financial services. US authorities also seized what they said was an estimated $14 billion in bitcoin linked to Chen or his operations, and charged him with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies.
He was accused of sanctioning violence against workers, authorising bribes to foreign officials and using his other businesses, such as online gambling and cryptocurrency mining, to launder illicit profits. Prosecutors in the US charged that his organisation scammed 250 Americans out of millions of dollars, with one losing $400,000 in cryptocurrency. In 2024, Americans lost at least $ 10 billion to Southeast Asia-based scams, according to the US Treasury Department.
British authorities froze Chen’s British businesses and assets, including a 12 million-euro-mansion and a 100-million-euro office building in London. Then other authorities followed. Singapore launched an investigation on Oct. 30 after announcing the seizure of financial assets belonging to Chen worth more than $150 million Singaporean dollars ($114 million) and a yacht. In Taiwan, police seized 26 luxury cars, including a Ferrari, a Bugatti and a Porsche.
