A CHINA-BORN accused cyberscam boss was extradited from Cambodia, Chinese state media said, linking him to an alleged kingpin indicted by the United States for running a multibillion-dollar network from the South-East Asian nation.
Cambodia has emerged as a hotspot for cyberscam operations in recent years, with transnational crime groups initially largely targeting Chinese speakers before widening their targets and stealing tens of billions of dollars annually from victims worldwide.
China’s state-run broadcaster CCTV showed Li Xiong in handcuffs being escorted by Chinese police off a plane yesterday.
State news agency Xinhua said Li was central to a “major cross-border gambling and fraud syndicate”, citing China’s Ministry of Public Security.
“Investigations found that Li Xiong, the former chairman of Huione Group under the Prince Group, is suspected of multiple crimes,” state-run CCTV said.
Chen Zhi, the founder of the US-indicted Prince Group, was extradited to China from Cambodia in January. The CCTV report called Li “a core member of Chen’s criminal gang”.
Also born in China, Chen served as an adviser to both Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and his father, former leader Hun Sen.
Hun Manet said in February that the government “did not know that he was the kingpin” and pushed back on allegations of government connivance.
He said scam centres were destroying Cambodia’s economy and giving the nation a bad name.
Chen and Li had both 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,” CCTV said.
Li was arrested in Cambodia and deported at the request of Chinese authorities following a months-long joint investigation, Cambodia’s interior ministry said.
A spokesperson for the foreign ministry in Beijing said “combating online gambling and telecoms fraud is the shared responsibility of the global community”.
Organised criminal gangs have used casinos, hotels and fortified compounds across South-East Asia 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. — AFP
