Singapore investigates two men linked to Chen Zhi’s scam empire

The two Chinese nationals have been identified as 44-year-old Hu Xiaowei and 38-year-old Qiu Wei Ren, according to a statement by the police.

Police said Hu and his associated company, Future Oasis, are being investigated as part of ongoing probes involving the Prince Group, its founder and chairman Chen Zhi, along with his associates and companies. Hu holds passports from Cyprus, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Hong Kong.

Prince Holding Group founder Chen Zhi in an undated photo. Photo courtesy of Prince Holding Group

“Police had previously seized assets held across his bank and securities accounts in Singapore in January 2026,” according to the statement.

Both Hu Xiaowei and Qiu Wei Ren had left Singapore prior to the commencement of the police’s operations in October 2025, and are currently not in Singapore, it added.

So far, more than SGD600 million (US$463 million) in cash and assets tied to Prince Group investigation in Singapore have been seized or placed under prohibition of disposal orders. The assets include three properties, a yacht, luxury cars, bags, and watches.

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a U.S. non-governmental organization, reported on June 22 that Hu had been arrested in Japan.

Together with Kyodo News, OCCRP said he was arrested on suspicion of submitting a fraudulent change-of-address notification, an act that violates laws against the use of false electronic official records.

In October last year, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the Prince Group, Cambodian national Chen Zhi, and his affiliates in one of the largest financial fraud crackdowns in history.

More than 100 entities were covered by the sanctions, including companies registered in Cambodia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Palau, Laos, the British Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands. Three Singaporeans and 17 Singapore-registered entities were also sanctioned, according to The Straits Times.

Authorities had accused the Prince Group of wire fraud, money laundering, and human trafficking on an industrial scale, among other offenses.

At the same time, Washington cut Cambodia-based Huione Group off from its financial system, alleging that Huione had laundered at least $4 billion in illicit proceeds between August 2021 and January 2025.

The sanctions fallout last October led to the arrests of Chen Zhi and Huione Group head Li Xiong by Phnom Penh in January and April. Both men were extradited to Beijing.