Alleged scam kingpin Chen Zhi extradited to China after Cambodia arrest | Cambodia
Chen Zhi, a Chinese-born businessman indicted by the United States on fraud and money laundering charges for running a multibillion-dollar online fraud network in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, was arrested there and extradited to China, Phnom Penh said.
According to U.S. prosecutors, Chen allegedly oversaw the operations of forced labor settlements across Cambodia, where trafficked workers were held in prison-like facilities surrounded by high walls and barbed wire.
Since the US accusations and sanctions by Washington and London in October, authorities in Europe, the US and Asia have targeted Chen’s company, Prince Holding Group, through a frenzy of asset seizures.
Chen founded the Prince Group, a multinational conglomerate that authorities allege served as a front for “one of Asia’s largest transnational criminal organizations,” according to the US justice department.
Cambodian authorities “arrested and extradited three Chinese citizens named Chen Zhi, Xu Ji Liang and Shao Ji Hui” [them] “To the People’s Republic of China,” Cambodia’s interior ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
It was stated that the operation was carried out on Tuesday “within the scope of cooperation in the fight against international crime” and at the request of Chinese authorities “after several months of joint investigation cooperation”.
The interior ministry added that Chen’s Cambodian citizenship was “revoked by Royal Decree” in December.
Chinese authorities did not immediately comment on Chen’s arrest and extradition late Wednesday.
The US justice department also declined to comment on Wednesday.
U.S. authorities in October unsealed an indictment against Chen, a businessman accused of presiding over settlements in Cambodia where trafficked workers carried out cryptocurrency fraud schemes that generated billions of dollars.
He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted in the US on wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges involving approximately 127,271 Bitcoins seized by Washington (more than $11 billion at current prices).
Prince Group denied the allegations.
Fraudulent workers were forced, under threat of violence, to carry out so-called “pork butchering” scams – cryptocurrency investment schemes that build trust over time before stealing victims’ funds, according to charges in the US.
The schemes target victims worldwide and cause billions of dollars in losses.
Scam hubs in Cambodia, Myanmar and the region use fake job postings to lure foreign nationals, mostly Chinese, to purpose-built sites where they are forced to commit online fraud.
U.S. prosecutors allege Prince Group has operated in more than 30 countries since 2015 under the guise of legitimate real estate, financial services and consumer businesses.
Chen and senior executives allegedly used political influence and bribed officials in many countries to protect their illegal operations.
In Cambodia, Chen served as an advisor to Prime Minister Hun Manet and his father, former leader Hun Sen.
Experts say the southeast Asian country is home to dozens of scam hubs where tens of thousands of people commit online fraud; It is stated that some of them were willingly, while others were trafficked.
