The 37-year-old businessman, who is still at large, was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice on charges of money laundering, fraud, and operating “scam compounds” in Cambodia.
Prosecutors say his conglomerate earned billions through online investment and cryptocurrency schemes that exploited trafficked workers.
Here are five things to know about Chen.
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Cambodian tycoon Chen Zhi, founder and chairman of Prince Holding Group in a photo in 2021. Photo by Prince Holding Group |
1. Builds one of Cambodia’s biggest business empires
Chen is the founding chairman of Cambodia’s Prince Holding Group, a major conglomerate with interests ranging from real estate to banking and consumer goods. The Chinese-born holds both British and Cambodian citizenship.
The group’s projects in Cambodia are valued at over US$2 billion, including the Prince Plaza shopping complex in Phnom Penh, according to Channel News Asia.
The U.K. government has sanctioned Golden Fortune Resort World, which operates the Prince Compound near Phnom Penh, and has added Jinbei Group, linked to Prince Holding Group through its hotels and casinos, and the digital currency platform Byex Exchange to its sanctions list.
As Chen’s company is hit with legal sanctions, Cambodian customers have been rushing to withdraw their money from Prince Bank.
2. Allegedly masterminds global cyber-fraud network
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Chen with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering, alleging he masterminded a “cyber-fraud empire” under the Prince Group’s umbrella.
Prosecutors described it as one of Asia’s largest transnational criminal organizations, accusing Chen of building compounds in Cambodia where trafficked migrant workers were forced to conduct “pig butchering” cryptocurrency scams targeting victims worldwide, the department said.
The network extended beyond Cambodia, with U.S. Treasury officials describing it as a multinational criminal enterprise spanning China, Singapore, and Myanmar.
3. Exploits trafficked workers
U.S. authorities accuse Prince Group of running forced-labor scam compounds in Cambodia where thousands of people, many trafficked under false job offers of “easy, high-paying work,” were confined behind walls and barbed wire and compelled to make fraudulent investment calls.
Workers were allegedly coerced under threats and physical abuse to perpetrate crypto fraud targeting U.S. citizens and others across multiple continents, according to CNBC.
Investigators allege that Chen’s network lured victims through social-media and messaging-app outreach, promising high-return cryptocurrency investments.
Once victims transferred their funds, the money was siphoned off and laundered through complex blockchain techniques: large sums were fragmented into small transactions across hundreds of digital wallets before being reconsolidated to mask their origin.
4. Amasses over US$15 billion in cryptocurrency
U.S. authorities seized more than US$15 billion in bitcoin linked to Chen’s operations, calling it one of the largest financial fraud takedowns in history.
The funds were held in 25 wallets under Chen’s direct control. This cluster of wallets had remained mostly dormant since December 2020 until renewed activity triggered the international seizure operation in June-July 2024, according to blockchain intelligence platform TRM Labs.
Prosecutors allege that scam proceeds were used for luxury purchases including yachts, jets, mansions, watches, and even a Picasso painting. Chen, who remains at large, faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.
5. Faces no charges in Cambodia
Cambodia’s government has said it hopes the U.S. and Britain have sufficient evidence in their pursuit of Chen, after both governments imposed coordinated sanctions accusing the Cambodian conglomerate of running massive online scams and using forced labor, according to AP.
Prince Holding Group has met all legal requirements to operate in Cambodia and has been treated no differently than other major companies investing in the country, Cambodia’s Interior Ministry spokesman Touch Sokhak said earlier.
He said Cambodia will cooperate if there is a formal request backed by evidence. “We do not protect individuals who violate the law,” he said, but stressed that Cambodia’s government itself does not accuse Prince Holding Group or Chen Zhi of wrongdoing.
