Published on: January 8, 2026, 12:29h.
Updated on: January 8, 2026, 12:33h.
- Chen Zhi has been returned to China from Cambodia amid US criminal accusations
- Prince Group faces allegations of scams and trafficking; Treasury highlights severe worker exploitation
- This case is linked to a massive Bitcoin seizure; DOJ calls for unprecedented crypto forfeiture
Cambodian authorities have extradited Chen Zhi, the founder of the infamous Prince Group, to stand trial in his homeland of China.
The Prince Group is a vast conglomerate involved in casinos, real estate ventures, and banking in Cambodia. It has also been accused of engaging in cyberscams and human trafficking both locally and internationally, leading the US government to label it a “transnational criminal organization” (TCO).
Chen was broadcast on Chinese state television with a hood and handcuffs while being escorted off a plane at Beijing International Airport by armed personnel. Reports referred to him as the “head of a significant transnational gambling and fraud syndicate.”
Indictment by US Authorities
This billionaire, originally from China, was indicted by US and UK authorities in October 2025 on conspiracy charges involving wire fraud and money laundering. Concurrently, the DOJ confiscated approximately 127,000 Bitcoin associated with the group, valued around $15 billion, marking the largest crypto forfeiture in US history.
Chen’s extradition to China was unexpected given his alleged connections to Cambodia’s top officials. However, these relationships may have been more transactional, proving insufficient in shielding him from China’s reach.
Beijing has intensified its efforts against Southeast Asian scamming operations targeting its citizens, with recent legal outcomes imposing severe penalties, including death sentences.
In 2019, under pressure from Beijing, Cambodia prohibited online casinos, leading to the shutdown of many operators. Criminal organizations swiftly filled the vacated properties with scam facilities, luring workers with promises of legitimate employment only to hold them captive and force them into cyber fraud.
These operations, known as “pig-butchering” schemes, trick victims into investing heavily in fraudulent platforms. Amnesty International has alleged that the Cambodian government is complicit in enabling these scams.
Inhumane Tactics
During these schemes, countless trafficked workers face extreme exploitation through debt bondage and threats of violence while being coerced into committing fraud worth billions for their captors.
[Workers] experience inhumane control methods including physical violence, social isolation, movement restrictions, arbitrary fees, threats of sexual abuse, and confiscation of personal belongings,” stated the Treasury Department in an October report.
“Recently, many alarming accounts have emerged detailing horrific conditions for individuals linked to the Prince Group TCO,” it concluded.