A businessman with alleged links to a multi-billion dollar online scam operation has been extradited from Cambodia to China, according to state agencies.
Li Xiong, a Chinese-Cambodian citizen who is a former chairman of the Huione Group, was arrested in Cambodia by a joint task force following an investigation over several months, according to the Interior Ministry.
Li is suspected of involvement in offences including operating gambling dens, fraud, unlawful business operations and concealing and disguising the proceeds of crime, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported, citing Beijing’s Ministry of Public Security.
He is believed to be a high-ranking member of a criminal syndicate led by Chen Zhi, the founder of business and banking conglomerate Prince Holding Group, who is accused of running an online scam operation.
Chen was extradited in January.
Both men had their Cambodian national status cancelled before being sent to China. Their legitimate enterprises have denied any wrongdoing.
US prosecutors in October unveiled conspiracy charges against Chen, alleging he masterminded a multinational fraud network using his other businesses to launder its profits. Chen had claimed he received US$30mil (RM121mil) a day from the scams, according to the US indictment.
Cybercrime has flourished in South-East Asia in recent years, particularly in Cambodia and Myanmar, with illegal operations making huge profits from victims around the world, according to United Nations experts and other analysts.
The illicit industry is closely involved in human trafficking, with foreign nationals employed to run romance and cryptocurrency scams, often after being recruited with false job offers and then forced to work in conditions of near-slavery.
The Huione Group has been accused by the US Treasury Department of laundering billions of dollars for transnational criminal organisations, including North Korean hackers and South-East Asian scam networks.
The group’s digital banking arm, Huione Pay, had its licence revoked by the National Bank of Cambodia due to noncompliance and its role in an “illicit online marketplace” that facilitated billions in criminal transactions.” — AP
