Chen Zhi – Prince Group

On 6 January 2026, Chen Zhi, a 37-year-old Chinese tycoon, was arrested in Cambodia and extradited to China.

Chen Zhi, accused of masterminding a huge ‘cyber-fraud empire’, was charged by the US DoJ in 2025 with operating cyber scam compounds in Cambodia that defrauded victims of billions. The UK and US also sanctioned his businesses operating as part of the Prince Group, one of Cambodia’s largest multinational conglomerates, in October 2025.

Cambodia last week revoked the licences of four casinos linked to scam king Chen Zhi. Zhi’s Phnom Penh-based Prince Group is reportedly behind the world’s biggest online fraud enterprises.

Chinese state television said Chen Zhi had been arrested for fraud and for operating illegal casinos. Chen Zhi was considered a key figure in Cambodia’s global, industrial-scale cyber scam operations. Between January and February cops in Cambodia shut down 190 scam operations across the country.

Chen Zhi’s business emerged as a pioneer of so-called ‘foreigner butchering’ scams. In October 2025, it prompted the US and UK to impose sanctions on 146 individuals and businesses within the Prince Holding Group, including Chen Zhi, who was indicted in the US for wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. In one of the largest ever seizures in history, the US Treasury Department confiscated US$15 billion in cryptocurrency linked to his schemes.