Cambodian officials have deported a prominent businessman to China after his arrest. He faces accusations of directing a huge digital currency scam that trapped trafficked workers in compounds to cheat victims globally.
Chen Zhi, 37, from south-eastern China, was seized with compatriots Xu Ji Liang and Shao Ji Hui on January 6. The move capped a months-long multinational probe into cross-border crime.
U.S. authorities indicted him last October for running Cambodian-based online frauds that stole billions in cryptocurrencies. The UK sanctioned his Prince Group conglomerate.
Cambodia’s regulators suspended Prince Bank, a Prince Holding Group arm. Now in liquidation, it cannot offer new services but allows withdrawals and loan repayments, the National Bank of Cambodia stated Thursday.
U.S. agents seized $15 billion in bitcoin linked to Chen last year. FBI Director Kash Patel dubbed it “one of the largest financial fraud takedowns in history.”
Known as “pig butchering” rackets, the schemes groomed victims before draining funds. Chen’s group allegedly oversaw 10 such sites. The firm, involved in property, finance and retail, denies wrongdoing and ignored BBC requests for comment.
Chen swapped Chinese citizenship for Cambodian in 2014 via government donation, earning elite honours by 2020. A royal decree revoked it last month.
Cambodia’s interior ministry announced Wednesday that it had “arrested three Chinese nationals namely Chen Zhi, Xu Ji Liang, and Shao Ji Hui and extradited [them] to the People’s Republic of China.” His arrest site stayed undisclosed.
UN data shows hundreds of thousands trafficked to South-East Asian scam hubs, especially Cambodia, via fake jobs leading to beatings and forced fraud against Chinese marks.
China targeted Prince Group from 2020, calling it “a major transnational online gambling syndicate based in Cambodia.” Such scams may fuel half of Cambodia’s economy. Elites long backed Chen despite muted responses to sanctions.
“I think it’s the sheer scale of his operations which really makes Chen Zhi stand out,” said journalist Jack Adamovic Davies to the BBC last year.
He called it shocking that Prince Group built a “global footprint” without early alarms amid grave charges. Proceeds reportedly bought jets, art and properties from daily hauls up to $30 million.