Cambodia has extradited billionaire businessman Chen Zhi to China, authorities confirmed, following allegations he orchestrated a massive cryptocurrency scam involving trafficked workers forced into labor camps.
Chen was one of three Chinese nationals detained on 6 January after months of a joint investigation into transnational criminal activity, Cambodian officials said.
The 37-year-old had been charged in the United States last October for running internet-based scams from Cambodia, which authorities claim defrauded victims worldwide of billions in cryptocurrency. The UK also imposed sanctions on his conglomerate, Prince Group.
In a related move, Cambodian regulators have suspended operations at Prince Bank, a subsidiary of Chen’s corporate empire.
The National Bank of Cambodia said the bank is now in liquidation and barred from offering new services, though clients are still allowed to withdraw funds and repay loans.
China’s state media confirmed Chen Zhi’s extradition, describing him as the leader of a “major cross-border gambling and fraud syndicate,” suspected of multiple crimes, including illegal gambling operations, fraud, and concealing illicit profits.
CCTV reported that Chen has been “placed under coercive measures in accordance with the law.”
Authorities warned that “arrest warrants will soon be issued for key members of Chen Zhi’s criminal network,” signaling an intensified crackdown on his associates.
“The public security organs caution criminals to stop their activities immediately and surrender to authorities for leniency,” the report added.
Last year, U.S. officials seized approximately $15 billion in bitcoin linked to Chen, with FBI Director Kash Patel calling it “one of the largest financial fraud takedowns in history.”
Prince Group, headquartered in Cambodia, previously denied involvement in scams. The company describes its portfolio as spanning property development, finance, and consumer services.
Chen’s whereabouts had been unclear since the U.S. indictment in October, but Cambodian authorities confirmed on Wednesday that Chen, along with Xu Ji Liang and Shao Ji Hui, had been extradited to China. The statement did not specify his location prior to extradition.
Authorities noted that Chen’s Cambodian citizenship had been revoked last month. The tycoon originally gave up Chinese nationality to become a Cambodian citizen in 2014.
The United Nations estimates that hundreds of thousands of people, often from China, have been trafficked into Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, under the pretense of legitimate employment, only to be forced into online scams.
Victims are reportedly held against their will in “scam farms,” coerced to defraud strangers online under threat of violence.
Chinese investigators have quietly scrutinized the Prince Group since at least 2020, linking the company to multiple online fraud schemes.
The Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau described the conglomerate as a “major transnational online gambling syndicate based in Cambodia” and established a dedicated task force to investigate.
Cambodia’s government has historically maintained close ties with Chen, speaking little publicly after U.S. and UK sanctions on Prince Group, other than urging that foreign authorities have sufficient evidence.
Experts warn that scam operations may constitute nearly half of Cambodia’s economy.
“Chen Zhi’s operations are remarkable for their sheer scale,” said journalist Jack Adamovic Davies, who has investigated the tycoon.
Davies added that it is “astonishing” that Prince Group built such a global presence without drawing early scrutiny, given the serious criminal allegations it now faces.
