Cambodian Chinese-language media outlet 'Cambodia China Times' reported that Prince Group founder and chairman Chen Zhi was arrested in Cambodia and has been deported to China to undergo investigation by the relevant authorities.
In 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Chen Zhi with orchestrating scams in Cambodia, stealing billions of U.S. dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency from victims around the world. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has seized more than USD 14 billion (56.754 billion ringgit) worth of Bitcoin allegedly associated with him—claiming this is the largest cryptocurrency seizure in history.
Chen Zhi, only 37 years old, is a native of Fujian. He initially worked for a relatively small and apparently unsuccessful online gaming company, and later moved to Cambodia in late 2010 or 2011, entering the then booming real estate industry.
In 2014, he became a Cambodian citizen. The Prince Group he founded built a “technology industrial park” in Sihanoukville which, in reality, was a scam compound surrounded by high walls and barbed wire. Thousands were lured there by fake job offers, had their passports confiscated, and were forced to work 16-hour days running “pig-butchering” scams. Just two of these dens reportedly had 1,250 phones, controlled 76,000 social media accounts, and at its peak, scammed as much as USD 30 million (121 million ringgit) in a single day.