Cambodia has extradited a billionaire businessman accused of masterminding a vast cryptocurrency scam that allegedly lured trafficked workers into forced labor camps to defraud victims around the globe.
Chen Zhi was one of three Chinese nationals arrested on January 6 during a joint investigation into transnational crime that lasted several months.
The United States charged the 37-year-old, originally from South East China, in October with running internet scams from Cambodia, claiming they had stolen billions in cryptocurrency.
The U.S. Treasury Department reported having seized approximately $14 billion in bitcoin that it alleged belonged to Chen. In addition, the UK sanctioned his global business empire, Prince Group.
U.S. prosecutors described this operation as one of the most significant financial takedowns in history and the largest ever seizure of bitcoin.
Chen’s whereabouts remained unclear following his indictment for fraud and money laundering; however, Cambodian authorities confirmed on Wednesday that they had arrested him and two associates, Xu Ji Liang and Shao Ji Hui, and subsequently extradited them to China. The Cambodian interior ministry did not specify where Chen had been detained.
In December, his Cambodian nationality was revoked by royal decree. Chen had renounced his Chinese nationality to become Cambodian in 2014.
An estimated hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked to Southeast Asia, including many to Cambodia, under the guise of legitimate employment but are instead coerced into running online scams.
Victims are often held against their will in these scam farms, where they are forced to defraud individuals online under threats of punishment or abuse. Many target individuals in China, as per reports.
The Prince Group’s operations have come under scrutiny, with the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau even establishing a task force to investigate, labeling it a major online gambling syndicate based in Cambodia.
Chen's ties to Cambodia's ruling elite have drawn attention, particularly as the Cambodian government has largely remained silent since the recent U.S. and UK sanctions, urging authorities to verify their evidence against Chen and Prince Group.
The scale of the operations associated with Chen has raised questions about how deeply entrenched such illegal activities are within Cambodia's economy, with some estimates suggesting that scam-oriented businesses may account for up to half of it.
Journalist Jack Adamovic Davies noted the striking global footprint of the Prince Group against the backdrop of serious criminal allegations that have emerged.
Additional reporting by South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head.
