Alleged Global Scam Boss Chen Zhi Arrested in Cambodia, Extradited to China

_{Photo credit: Gergitek / Shutterstock.com} 

Prince Group chairman Chen Zhi has been arrested along with two other Chinese nationals in Cambodia, following months of investigation as part of a transnational crackdown on cybercrime in the country. 

Chen faces multiple charges, including operating international cybercrime networks, money laundering, and human trafficking. Chen is reported to have since been extradited to China, and his Cambodian citizenship has been revoked by royal decree.

Prince Group developed real estate and financial services in Cambodia. However, Chen has also faced mounting accusations from the US, UK, China, and other international authorities of directing industrial scam compounds using human trafficking. 

Victims are alleged to have been lured to these compounds, where they were forced to defraud targets around the world via pig butchering scams and other cyberfraud schemes. These operations are alleged to have defrauded victims worldwide of tens of billions of dollars. 

In October 2025, the US Department of Justice and Treasury sanctioned Chen and the Prince Group, before seizing approximately 127,271 bitcoin (worth approximately USD 11 billion at the time of writing) tied to the alleged fraud. 

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has also sanctioned Chen, seizing London property worth hundreds of millions of pounds linked to the Prince Group chairman. Prince Group has previously denied any involvement in scams. 

Footage broadcast on Chinese television showed Chen in handcuffs being escorted off a plane by armed police upon arrival in Beijing, labeling him the “leader of a major transnational gambling and fraud crime syndicate.”