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The Cambodian authorities have arrested Chen Zhi, the founder and chairman of Prince Group. He was taken in along with two other associates of his and quickly extradited to China following a request from the Chinese authorities.
Following his arrest, Chen Zhi was handed over to Chinese authorities, in what is being described as a collaborative effort between Cambodian and Chinese law enforcement agencies.
It is currently unknown what charges Chinese authorities will have him face, but many are watching to see the outcome.
Prince Group founder will face investigation upon his return to China
Chinese authorities have been looking into Prince Group-related activities since at least 2020.
Zhi’s arrest comes after he was charged by US prosecutors with running a criminal enterprise built on “human suffering.” Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department has claimed the stash of crypto they found linked him to the largest-ever cryptocurrency seizure, which saw authorities confiscate approximately $15 billion in Bitcoin allegedly tied to his operations.
With his alleged network, Zhi reportedly ran scam compounds in Cambodia that dealt in various forms of debauchery, including sextortion, illegal online gambling, and the trafficking and torture of workers forced to conduct online frauds.
Authorities in the US and UK have imposed sanctions on more than 100 companies and 17 individuals linked to his network, calling it an elaborate web of shell companies that helped him to launder proceeds from industrial-scale scams while keeping a low radar.
The operations reportedly had compounds like the Golden Fortune Science and Technology Park, where victims would allegedly be forced to commit online fraud. The crackdown on Zhi and his associated operations has resulted in far-reaching global consequences.
South Korea froze millions in bank deposits, Thailand seized his assets, Singapore dismissed an application to release over $300,000 in seized funds from a Chen-linked family office. The funds were denied because a Singaporean judge was unconvinced about the credibility of the applicant, noting the complexity of the transnational money laundering probe.
Chen Zhi had been a menace for years
Chen Zhi, who is famous for his reserved demeanor and unassuming look, did not have much when he first left his home country for Cambodia rapidly. He did not stay down for long, though.
He reportedly hails from China’s Fujian province and moved to Cambodia over a decade ago, after which he leveraged a Cambodian property bull market to build the Prince Group conglomerate, which he then scaled until it included a commercial bank, an airline, luxury real estate, and was getting ambitious multi-billion-dollar development projects.
Later on, he secured citizenship in the country and went on to develop close relationships with its political elite, which led to him being awarded honorary titles for his philanthropic donations. All of this he did while he stayed lowkey, a fact that may have helped him get away with his racket for as long as he did.
In the years that followed his arrival in Cambodia, Chen Zhi operated with impunity, with those at the highest levels of Cambodian power literally eating out of his hand.
His sudden arrest and removal to China come amid intense international pressure on Cambodia to address the criminal enterprises Zhi managed within its borders. It also represents a potentially decisive blow to an alleged fraud network that spanned continents and victimized thousands in the process.
Prince Group has attempted to distance itself from him and previously denied any involvement in scams, even calling the allegations false. While Chen Zhi remains indicted in the US, Cambodia has no extradition treaty with the US, which is why his rapid transfer to China makes sense.
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