TOKYO (Agencies): A senior member of a Cambodia-based, Chinese-affiliated group sanctioned by the US and Britain as one of Asia’s largest criminal networks has been arrested in Japan along with two others, investigative sources said on June 22, according to local media in Japan.
Tokyo police suspect the three of filing a fraudulent change-of-address notification in violation of the law against making and using false electronic official records, the sources said as .
The man, identified as Hu Shi, is believed to be an executive of Prince Holding Group, which, according to the US Treasury Department, is headquartered in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh and has established large-scale scam compounds in the country.
In 2025, the United States added Prince Holding Group and its chairman, Chen Zhi, who is a Cambodian national of Chinese descent, to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list.
The group is believed to lure people from various countries with fake job offers promising high pay, then confine them and force them to engage in cross-border fraud and other criminal activities.
Hu, who is suspected of using several names, including Chen Xiaoer, was identified as a 44-year-old Chinese-born Cypriot national. He was arrested on June 14.
The other two suspects were Li Yinhong, a 31-year-old Chinese male company employee, and Hao Fengzhi, a 36-year-old Chinese woman.
The three allegedly submitted a false notification to Tokyo’s Chuo Ward on April 20. Police believe the man instructed Li to impersonate him during the procedure.
Hu told investigators he moved his residence registration to Tokyo to obtain permanent residency in Japan and had an agent handle the procedure, the sources said. Li and Hao have denied the allegations. -- Agencies
