Cambodia has extradited to the mainland a Chinese billionaire whom Beijing accuses of operating a transnational crime network, including alleged involvement in a casino and fraud.
At the request of Chinese authorities, Cambodia arrested three Chinese nationals – including Chen Zhi, the founder of Prince Holding Group – and transferred them to China on Tuesday, the Cambodia China Times reported on Wednesday night.
The Cambodian Ministry of Interior said law enforcement from both countries had worked together on the case for months.
The ministry did not give details about Chen or his alleged crimes but said he was officially stripped of his Cambodian nationality in December, in accordance with local law.
The revoked Cambodian citizenship could pave the way for establishing China’s jurisdiction in Chen’s case. China does not allow dual citizenship. And in China’s statement, Beijing stressed that Chen was now a Chinese national.
Chen, who was born in Fujian province in 1987, became a naturalised Cambodian citizen in 2014.
In Beijing on Thursday, the Ministry of Public Security described Chen’s arrest as “another great achievement under China-Cambodia law enforcement cooperation”.
Chen is accused of various crimes, including opening a casino, fraud, illegal operations and concealing criminal proceeds, the Ministry of Public Security said.
Chen had been taken into custody according to the law and the case was being processed, it added, noting that Chinese police would soon put core members of Chen’s crime ring on a wanted list. It urged any members on the run to “turn themselves in”.
Prince Holding Group and its US law firm, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Commenting on the case, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Thursday that the fight against online gambling and telecoms fraud was “a shared responsibility of the international community”.
“China has been actively working with Cambodia and other countries for some time to fight cross-border telecoms and online fraud, with notable achievements,” Mao said.
“China is willing to step up law enforcement cooperation with its neighbours, including Cambodia, to protect life and property.”
The arrests and extraditions come at the height of Beijing’s efforts to combat telecoms fraud beyond its borders and amid a crackdown on cryptocurrencies in China.
According to previous media reports, Chen has been the chairman of Prince Holding Group since 2015, overseeing the operations of dozens of companies – from real estate to financial services – across more than 30 countries.
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) said on Thursday that a Cambodian bank Chen founded had been “placed under liquidation” since his arrest.
Prince Bank, a subsidiary of Prince Holding Group, was “suspended from providing new banking services, including accepting deposits and providing credit”, the NBC said.
Customers holding deposits could withdraw money normally by preparing documents for withdrawal, and borrowers must continue to fulfil their obligations as normal, it said.
Multiple countries have taken action against Chen. In October, the US charged him with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering. US law enforcement also seized about US$15 billion worth of bitcoin it alleged belonged to Chen.
US prosecutors accused Chen and his associates of running camps in Cambodia where people were held against their will and forced to take part in fraud.
He was sanctioned in both the US and Britain. Governments across Asia – including Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan – have also seized assets or detained individuals related to Chen’s group.
Chinese authorities have been quietly investigating the group in the past few years. In 2020, the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau established a special task force to investigate the group on suspicion it was running online fraud schemes and money laundering operations, according to Chinese news magazine Caijing.
In November, Prince Holding Group said it “rejects the notion that it or its chairman, Chen Zhi, has engaged in any unlawful activity”.
It said the conglomerate was one of Cambodia’s largest business groups, with more than 100 businesses operating in sectors across real estate development, banking, finance, tourism, logistics, technology, food and beverages and lifestyle.
The South China Morning Post reported in November that Chen and his company had been linked to a network of entities in Hong Kong, and police in the city froze HK$2.75 billion (US$353 million) in assets – including cash, stocks and funds – believed to be the proceeds of crime.
As of last week, Chen remained the controlling shareholder of two sanctioned Hong Kong-listed firms – Geotech Holdings and Khoon Group.
Geotech Holdings stated in mid-October that it expected no “material adverse impact” on operations and that Chen had no role in the group. Khoon Group said none of its directors were involved and that its business was principally in Singapore.
China has been pushing for more cooperation with Southeast Asian countries to crack down on telecoms fraud.
In 2024, a joint law enforcement operation carried out by China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam solved more than 160 telecoms fraud-related cases, with more than 70,000 suspects arrested and over 160 scam victims rescued, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Last year, Chinese police said more than 5,500 suspects were repatriated to China after a coordinated crackdown on criminal activities in the Myawaddy region of Myanmar by China, Myanmar and Thailand.
China’s central bank meanwhile pledged to stamp out “illegal activities” involving virtual currencies during a meeting in November. It said virtual currencies did not have the same legal status as fiat currency and could not be used as legal tender in the market.
“Stablecoins, as a form of virtual currency, currently fail to effectively meet requirements such as customer identification and anti-money laundering, posing risks of being used for illegal activities such as money laundering, fundraising fraud and illicit cross-border capital transfers,” the People’s Bank of China said.
It called for a focus on areas such as information flow and capital flow to monitor and crack down on illegal activities and “safeguard the stability of economic and financial order”. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
