The United States Department of Justice has charged Chen Zhi, a 37-year-old Cambodian-Chinese tycoon, with orchestrating one of the largest online scam operations in the world — a cyber-fraud empire that allegedly stole more than $14 billion in cryptocurrency from victims worldwide.
Authorities describe Chen as “the mastermind behind a sprawling criminal enterprise built on human suffering.” The U.S. Treasury Department confirmed the seizure of over $14 billion worth of Bitcoin linked to Chen’s operations — the largest cryptocurrency confiscation in U.S. history.
On the surface, Chen Zhi appeared to be a polished, youthful business magnate — his Prince Group conglomerate was portrayed as one of Cambodia’s most respected companies, engaged in real estate, banking, and philanthropy. His official biography celebrated him as a “renowned entrepreneur and philanthropist,” whose leadership allegedly transformed Cambodia’s economy.
Yet, beneath the glamour and political connections, investigators now allege Chen’s empire was built on fraud, exploitation, and organized crime.
From Internet Startups to Cambodia’s Power Elite
Born in Fujian, China, Chen began his career in a small, unremarkable gaming company before moving to Cambodia around 2010, just as the nation’s real estate boom took off.
By 2014, he had acquired Cambodian citizenship — a move that allowed him to legally buy land. Within years, Chen expanded into luxury real estate, banking, and even aviation. He launched Prince Bank, founded Prince Real Estate, and announced the multibillion-dollar “Bay of Lights” development project in Sihanoukville.
Chen cultivated deep political ties, becoming an official adviser to powerful Cambodian figures, including Interior Minister Sar Kheng and former Prime Minister Hun Sen. In 2020, he was awarded Cambodia’s prestigious “Neak Oknha” honorific — a title requiring a minimum donation of $500,000 to the state.
Luxury, Power — and Hidden Finances
Despite his rapid rise, the origins of Chen’s fortune remained unclear. When opening a foreign bank account in 2019, he cited a $2 million “gift from an uncle” to start his business — an unverified claim.
That same year, Chen reportedly bought a £12 million mansion in North London and a £95 million office building in the City of London. Investigators allege he also acquired Picasso artworks, private jets, and superyachts through illicit funds.
By 2020, Chen had secured multiple foreign citizenships — including Cyprus and Vanuatu — and his Prince Group had become one of Cambodia’s most visible conglomerates. But behind the facade, U.S. and U.K. authorities claim, was a web of fraud, trafficking, and money laundering.
A Global Web of Fraud and Human Exploitation
According to U.S. and U.K. sanctions documents, Chen’s conglomerate operated at least ten “scam compounds” across Cambodia, using human trafficking victims as forced labor in online fraud networks.
Victims were reportedly held captive, tortured, and coerced into carrying out online scams that included sextortion, crypto theft, and identity fraud. The Prince Group Transnational Crime Organization, as labeled by the U.S. Treasury, is accused of profiting from “a litany of crimes including money laundering, extortion, corruption, and forced labor.”
Journalist Jack Adamovic Davies, who spent three years investigating Chen Zhi for Radio Free Asia, described him as “a calm, measured figure whose quiet charisma concealed immense power.”
Davies said what truly stands out is “the sheer scale of his operations — Chen Zhi built a global criminal footprint that went unnoticed by banks, lawyers, and regulators who should have sounded the alarm.”
International Fallout and Vanishing Acts
Following the U.S. and U.K. sanctions, 128 companies and 17 individuals tied to Chen have been blacklisted. Assets have been frozen across the U.S., U.K., Singapore, and South Korea, with $64 million in deposits seized by Korean banks.
Cambodia’s central bank moved quickly to reassure depositors of Prince Bank’s stability, while governments in Thailand and Singapore opened investigations into the group’s subsidiaries.
Yet Chen Zhi himself has vanished. Since the sanctions announcement, his whereabouts are unknown. Once hailed as a national benefactor and ally of Cambodia’s elite, the man once known as “Prince Chen Zhi” has now become the face of Asia’s largest-ever crypto crime scandal.
Source: BBC – The mysterious owner of a ‘scam empire’ accused of stealing $14bn in crypto
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