BEIJING: A China-born accused scam boss was extradited from Cambodia, Chinese state media said Wednesday (April 1), linking him to an alleged kingpin indicted by the US for running a multibillion-dollar cyberscam network from the South-East Asian nation.
"Investigations found that Li Xiong, the former chairman of Huione Group under the Prince Group, is suspected of multiple crimes," state-run CCTV said, with the report calling Li "a core member of Chen Zhi's criminal gang".
Chen, the founder of Prince Group, was himself extradited to China from Cambodia in January.
Also Chinese-born, Chen had served as an adviser to both Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and his father, former leader Hun Sen.
Both Chen and Li had been granted Cambodian citizenship, which was later revoked by Phnom Penh.
"At present, Li Xiong has been placed under coercive measures according to the law, and the relevant case is under further investigation," CCTV said.
Across South-East Asia, organised criminal gangs have used casinos, hotels and fortified compounds as bases to carry out sophisticated online scams, defrauding people around the world through fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investment schemes, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
Cambodia hosts dozens of scam centres with tens of thousands of people perpetrating online scams, some willingly and others trafficked, rights monitors say.
The US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) designated Huione Group a "primary money-laundering concern" in May, saying that it had facilitated more than US$4 billion in illegal transactions between August 2021 and January 2025. - AFP
