Crypto Scam Suspect Linked to $15B Bitcoin Stash Deported to China After Cambodia Arrest

Authorities in Cambodia arrested a man accused of being one of Asia’s biggest crypto scammers. Chen Zhi, the head of a conglomerate alleged to have operated dozens of forced-labor scam centers and stolen billions of dollars in cryptocurrency, was detained in Cambodia and deported to China for investigation, according to a recent report published on Wednesday.

Chen Zhi Detained in Cambodia and Sent Back to China

A businessman linked by U.S. investigators to a massive cryptocurrency fraud operation has been arrested in Cambodia and sent to China, according to a report by the Cambodia China Times. The move comes months after U.S. authorities sought to seize billions of dollars in bitcoin they say were connected to the alleged scheme.

Cambodia’s Ministry of Information said on Wednesday that Chen Zhi, the founder and chairman of the Prince Group, was taken into custody earlier this week and deported to China at the request of Chinese authorities after a joint investigation. Cambodian officials did not say whether Chen has been formally charged in China.

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In October, U.S. authorities said they had moved to seize more than 127,000 bitcoins allegedly connected to Zhi, a haul worth about $15 billion at the time. The action was led by several agencies, including the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

On the same day, the United States and the United Kingdom jointly labeled Prince Group a transnational criminal organization. Later in the month, the U.S. Treasury expanded its sanctions list to include 25 additional cryptocurrency wallet addresses linked to Zhi, which together were said to hold roughly $780 million in bitcoin.

Prince Group responded in November with a statement denying all allegations, saying neither the company nor Zhi had taken part in any illegal activity.

Who is Chen Zhi?

Zhi, 38, is a Chinese-born businessman who later gave up his Chinese citizenship. He has led Prince Group since around 2015, overseeing a massive network of companies operating in more than 30 countries.

While the group publicly presents itself as a real estate and financial services company, U.S. prosecutors allege that behind the scenes it was expanded under Zhi’s leadership into one of the largest transnational criminal operations in Asia.  

The U.S. Treasury says Prince Group made money from illegal online gambling, sextortion, money laundering, and large-scale human trafficking linked to the torture and exploitation of workers at least ten scam centers in Cambodia.

Prince Group denied the claims in a statement released in November, saying it completely rejects the allegations and condemned what it called the unlawful seizure of assets worth billions of dollars.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the money taken from these scams is cleaned and moved through a complicated web of more than 100 shell and holding companies around the world.