Timor-Leste is vulnerable to ‘infiltration by foreign organized crime’, president José Ramos-Horta says | Timor-Leste
The country’s president, José Ramos-Horta, has warned that East Timor is vulnerable to “infiltration by foreign organized crime”.
His comments came as Australia’s federal police confirmed to the Guardian that it was providing support to local law enforcement in Timor-Leste, including the visit of the agency’s digital forensics and cyber experts in December 2025.
“The AFP is increasing its focus on cybercrime and the development of digital forensics capacity in the region in response to the threat of online fraud centres,” a spokesman said.
A joint investigation between the Guardian and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project on Tuesday uncovered an alleged link between three people involved in a proposed “blockchain-themed” resort project in Dili and the Prince Group, which was approved by the US and UK governments in October.
Cambodia-based Prince Group describes itself as a real estate, financial and consumer services conglomerate, but U.S. authorities allege it operates human trafficking compounds that target victims globally through online fraud.
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What is Prince Group?
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Prince Holding Group (Prince Group) is a business holding group based in Cambodia – According to their website – on “real estate development, financial services and consumer services.”
In October 2025, US authorities indicted Prince Group founder Chen Zhi on charges of wire fraud and money laundering, describing the group as “one of the largest transnational criminal organizations in Asia”.
Authorities allege the group operated forced labor fraud compounds that engaged in “industrial-scale cyber fraud,” including cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes that targeted victims worldwide and resulted in billions of dollars in losses. According to the indictment, Prince Group operated dozens of business entities in more than 30 countries.
Prince Group has denied allegations of criminal activity, describing them as false and saying they were aimed at illegally seizing billions of dollars.
Authorities seized $15 billion worth of Bitcoin and froze Chen’s assets in the United Kingdom, including several luxury properties in London. Hong Kong and Singapore have frozen or seized assets linked to the company worth more than US$450 million. More than 100 business organizations – registered in Cambodia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Palau and Taiwan, among others – and 17 people were placed on the sanctions list for their alleged links to Chen.
“Today, the FBI and its partners carried out one of the largest financial fraud operations in history,” FBI Director Kash Patel said regarding the indictment.
The fraud ringleader, who also allegedly held Cypriot and Vanuatu passports, was arrested in Cambodia and extradited to China in January. It’s unclear what charges he faces there. China’s foreign ministry said authorities were cooperating to combat cross-border telecom fraud scams.
Following Chen’s arrest, the Cambodian government announced that Chen had been stripped of his Cambodian citizenship and honorary title.
Last year UN issued a warning About the risk of anonymous fraud networks infiltrating East Timor. This follows the bust of an allegedly unrelated fraud operation in Oecusse, a remote pocket of the country, in August.
“We, along with the government and our entire society, remain vigilant against the dangers of organized crime,” Ramos-Horta wrote in a statement posted on the president’s website Wednesday in response to the Guardian report.
He added: “But I cannot accept information that comes solely from media reports or from certain people in East Timor; people who wish evil on the country or try to tarnish the name of East Timor, they are the ones who are producing false information against those who want to invest in East Timor…
“I don’t see any organized crime established in Timor-Leste at the moment.”
Chen Zhi, founder of Prince Group, was indicted by the US for alleged wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, and billions of dollars worth of bitcoin were seized. In January, Chen was extradited to China, but it is unclear what charges he faces there.
A spokesman for Prince Group denied the US and UK allegations, saying they were nothing more than a “cash grab” and that Chen and Prince Group companies had never had any connection with the “fraud” business.
“They are innocent of ridiculous claims that have simply been used as air cover by multiple governments to seize billions of dollars of assets from an innocent entrepreneur while destroying legitimate businesses and harming tens of thousands of hard-working people.”
The spokesman said neither Chen nor the Prince Group had any knowledge or connection with East Timor or any activities in that country. “The inclusion of speculation about Chen and Prince in this news story is the spread of salacious rumors that have no basis,” they said.
Three individuals involved in a proposed resort project in East Timor were sanctioned by US authorities in October for their alleged involvement in another property development project affiliated with the Prince Group. No charges have been brought against them and there is no suggestion that the Timor-Leste project received funding from the Prince Group.
The project’s current shareholders have denied any involvement in organized crime or any other crime and said three alleged Prince Group members were immediately expelled from the facility following the announcement of US sanctions.
The joint investigation also examined the role of an investor and that of Lin Xiaofan (also known as Frank Lin), the face of the East Timor resort. There is no suggestion that Lin has been sanctioned or is a member of the Prince Group, and he has not been charged with any crime.
“East Timor has abundant natural resources and strong potential for tourism development,” Lin said of his interest in the project. He said all of its activities in the country “are carried out within a legal and harmonious framework, in cooperation with the relevant authorities.”
In a statement posted on the president’s website, Ramos-Horta said he welcomed Lin “just as I welcome any investor from countries in Asia and Europe.”
“Like many investors, Mr. Lin came to Timor-Leste with ideas, plans and dreams of making significant investments, but these have not yet materialized,” he wrote.
He added: “Mr Lin has done nothing wrong in East Timor. The government will decide whether to accept any investment and if that investment is good for East Timor, the government will decide accordingly.”
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said the Australian government was “working closely with Timor-Leste to combat international crime and strengthen regional security and resilience”.
In January, Anthony Albanese visited Dili with his colleague East Timorese prime minister Xanana Gusmão to establish Parseria Foun ba Era Foun (“Parseria”), Tetum for a New Partnership for a New Era.
The agreement committed the two countries to regular communication, consultation and cooperation on matters of common security interest, including transnational crime.
