Cambodia extradites alleged rip-off mastermind to China after arrest

[ad_1] Simon Fraser Asia editor, BBC Information web site

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/5d76/live/4f1afe20-b01b-11f0-b2a1-6f537f66f9aa.png.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/5d76/live/4f1afe20-b01b-11f0-b2a1-6f537f66f9aa.png.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/5d76/live/4f1afe20-b01b-11f0-b2a1-6f537f66f9aa.png.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/5d76/live/4f1afe20-b01b-11f0-b2a1-6f537f66f9aa.png.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/5d76/live/4f1afe20-b01b-11f0-b2a1-6f537f66f9aa.png.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/5d76/live/4f1afe20-b01b-11f0-b2a1-6f537f66f9aa.png.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/5d76/live/4f1afe20-b01b-11f0-b2a1-6f537f66f9aa.png.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/5d76/live/4f1afe20-b01b-11f0-b2a1-6f537f66f9aa.png.webp" loading="eager" alt="Prince Group/Getty images Chen Zhi alongside a company building" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Prince Group/Getty photographs Cambodia says it has extradited to China a billionaire businessman accused of masterminding an unlimited cryptocurrency rip-off during which trafficked staff had been lured to compelled labour camps to defraud victims globally.

Chen Zhi was amongst three Chinese language nationals arrested on 6 January after a joint investigation into transnational crime lasting a number of months, Cambodia mentioned.

The US charged the 37-year-old, who was born in south-east China, final October with working web scams from Cambodia that it mentioned had stolen billions in cryptocurrency.

The US Treasury Department seized about $14bn (£10.4bn) worth of bitcoin it alleged belonged to him. The UK also sanctioned his global business empire, Prince Group .

US prosecutors mentioned it was one the largest monetary takedowns in historical past and the biggest ever seizure of bitcoin.

The BBC contacted Prince Group for remark on the time. Previously, the Cambodia-based group has denied any involvement in scams. Its web site says its companies embody property growth, and monetary and shopper companies.

Since Chen Zhi was indicted by the US on fraud and money-laundering fees in October, his whereabouts have been unclear.

However on Wednesday, the Cambodian authorities mentioned they'd "arrested three Chinese language nationals specifically Chen Zhi, Xu Ji Liang, and Shao Ji Hui and extradited [them] to the Individuals's Republic of China". The inside ministry assertion didn't say the place Chen Zhi had been detained.

His Cambodian nationality had been revoked by royal decree final month, it added. The enigmatic tycoon had given up his Chinese language nationality to develop into a Cambodian citizen in 2014.

The UN estimates that a whole lot of hundreds of individuals have been trafficked to South East Asia, a lot of them to Cambodia, lured by the promise of authentic jobs after which compelled to run on-line scams.

Individuals are held in opposition to their will within the rip-off farms and made to defraud strangers on-line below the specter of punishment or torture. Lots of these trapped are Chinese language and focused folks in China.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/5b6c/live/63dbc130-ebf0-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.png.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/5b6c/live/63dbc130-ebf0-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.png.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/5b6c/live/63dbc130-ebf0-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.png.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/5b6c/live/63dbc130-ebf0-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.png.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/5b6c/live/63dbc130-ebf0-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.png.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/5b6c/live/63dbc130-ebf0-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.png.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/5b6c/live/63dbc130-ebf0-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.png.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/5b6c/live/63dbc130-ebf0-11f0-b5f7-49f0357294ff.png.webp" loading="lazy" alt="EPA People who were rescued from scam centers in Myanmar arrive in Thailand, at the Myanmar-Thai border of Phop Phra district, near Mae Sot, Tak province, northern Thailand, 12 February 2025" class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> EPA Rip-off centres have proliferated in South East Asia - above, folks rescued from compounds in Myanmar final February are seen arriving in Thailand

Chinese language authorities have additionally been quietly investigating the Prince Group since not less than 2020. The corporate is accused of working on-line fraud schemes in a lot of courtroom instances.

The Beijing Municipal Public Safety Bureau established a job pressure to analyze the Prince Group, describing it as "a significant transnational on-line playing syndicate primarily based in Cambodia".

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/512a/live/9ba344c0-afe7-11f0-a143-2b4ebe719445.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/512a/live/9ba344c0-afe7-11f0-a143-2b4ebe719445.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/512a/live/9ba344c0-afe7-11f0-a143-2b4ebe719445.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/512a/live/9ba344c0-afe7-11f0-a143-2b4ebe719445.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/512a/live/9ba344c0-afe7-11f0-a143-2b4ebe719445.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/512a/live/9ba344c0-afe7-11f0-a143-2b4ebe719445.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/512a/live/9ba344c0-afe7-11f0-a143-2b4ebe719445.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/512a/live/9ba344c0-afe7-11f0-a143-2b4ebe719445.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="AFP via Getty Images Motorists ride past a branch of the Prince Bank in Phnom Penh on October 15, 2025." class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> AFP by way of Getty Photographs US authorities accuse Chen Zhi of turning Prince Group into one in every of Asia's largest transnational legal organisations

Cambodia's ruling elite have been near Chen Zhi for years. The federal government has mentioned little because the US and UK sanctioned Prince Group, other than urging US and UK authorities to make sure they'd adequate proof for his or her allegations.

By some estimates, rip-off companies might account for round half of your complete Cambodian financial system.

"I believe it is the sheer scale of his operations which actually makes Chen Zhi stand out," Jack Adamovic Davies, a journalist who has investigated Chen Zhi, instructed the BBC final yr.

He mentioned it was surprising the Prince Group had been capable of construct a "world footprint" with out elevating alarm bells, given the intense legal fees it now faces.