Cambodia extradites Prince Group’s Chen Zhi to China

Cambodian authorities have arrested Chen Zhi, founder and chairman of Prince Holding Group, and extradited him to China amid allegations linked to fraud, money laundering and transnational crime, according to reports citing an Interior Ministry statement.

Cambodia’s Interior Ministry said that, under cooperation frameworks to combat transnational crime and following a request from relevant Chinese authorities, Cambodia arrested three Chinese nationals — Chen Zhi, Xu Ji Liang and Shao Ji Hui — and has already extradited them to China.

The arrest of the influential businessman is being described in reports as the endpoint of an international pursuit that intensified in late 2025, after the United States was said to have brought charges in absentia and accused him of being a key figure behind large-scale crypto-related scams and alleged links to trafficking victims forced to work in “scam compounds”.

Reports also claim that proceeds from fraud and electronic money-laundering networks funded an extravagant lifestyle, including collecting Picasso artworks and owning private jets and yachts. One report said US authorities seized bitcoin tied to the network valued at US$14 billion.

While Chen has been portrayed publicly in Cambodia as a prominent philanthropist, he has also been the subject of international enforcement actions. The US and the UK jointly sanctioned individuals and companies linked to the Prince Group network, citing a total of 146 targets. South Korea announced sanctions covering 147 names on November 27, describing it as the country’s largest sanctions action to date.

Prosecutors in Taipei investigated entities linked to Prince Group on allegations including money laundering and online gambling, and arrested 24 suspects on November 6.

Asset seizures and “hybrid scam” networks

Asset seizures linked to transnational scam cases, describing “hybrid scams” that use multiple tactics and steps to trick victims into transferring money through bank accounts, with financial trails connected across cases.

A transaction committee ordered the seizure of 102 assets linked to wrongdoing — including land, cash, branded goods and jewellery — totalling about 373 million baht.

Who is Chen Zhi and what is Prince Holding Group?

Chen, 37, is the founding chairman of Prince Holding Group, which operates across multiple sectors including real estate, financial services and consumer businesses.

Key business units include Prince Real Estate Group, Prince Huan Yu Real Estate Group and Prince Bank. The group is described as having real-estate and banking investments in Cambodia worth more than US$2 billion, including a major development, Prince Plaza, in Phnom Penh.

Chen was born in China and has held both Cambodian and British nationality. Prince’s website has described him as a respected entrepreneur and well-known philanthropist in Cambodia’s business community, highlighting charitable work through the Prince Foundation, the group’s philanthropic arm.

He has also been described as having served as an adviser to Prime Minister Hun Manet and Senate President Hun Sen, and as holding the Cambodian honorific title “Neak Oknha”, commonly used to denote an influential tycoon.