Cambodia extradites alleged scam kingpin Chen Zhi to China
BANGKOK -- Cambodia’s government said Wednesday it had arrested and extradited to China a tycoon who has been accused of running a huge online scam operation.Cambodia’s Interior Ministry said Prince Holding Group chairman Chen Zhi and two other Chinese citizens were arrested and extradited Tuesday at the request of Chinese authorities.Chen formerly had dual nationality but his Cambodian citizenship was revoked in December, it said.U.S.
prosecutors charged Chen in October with conspiracy charges alleging he masterminded a multinational cyberfraud network, used his other businesses to launder its profits and sanctioned violence against workers.Prince had boasted of getting $30 million a day from the scams, according to the indictment.The U.S.
Treasury Department and the U.K.Foreign Office imposed sanctions, while authorities also seized Chen Zhi's assets, which included properties worth at least $100 million and $14 billion worth in cryptocurrency.Scam centers have proliferated across Southeast Asia, swindling money from victims by persuading them to join bogus investment schemes.
According to estimates from the U.N.Office on Drugs and Crime, scam victims worldwide lost between $18 billion and $37 billion in 2023.The U.S.
and U.K.imposed sanctions against Chen, 38, and his companies' legitimate involvements, which were primarily involved in real estate development and financial services.U.S.
authorities also seized what they said was an estimated $14 billion in bitcoin linked to Chen or his operations, and charged him with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies.He was accused of sanctioning violence against workers, authorizing bribes to foreign officials and using his other businesses, such as online gambling and cryptocurrency mining, to launder illicit profits.Prosecutors in the U.S.
charged that his organization scammed 250 Americans out of millions of dollars, with one losing $400,000 in cryptocurrency.In 2024, Americans lost at least $10 billion...