Cambodia has extradited a prominent Chinese businessman accused of orchestrating one of the world’s largest online scam networks, marking a significant moment in the region’s widening crackdown on cybercrime. On Wednesday, Cambodian officials confirmed that Cambodia Hands Over Alleged Scam Kingpin Chen Zhi to Chinese Authorities, following mounting international pressure and years of scrutiny.
According to Cambodia’s Interior Ministry, Chen Zhi — chairman of the Prince Holding Group — was arrested along with two other Chinese nationals and transferred to China on Tuesday at Beijing’s request. Chen, who previously held dual citizenship, had his Cambodian nationality revoked in December, clearing the way for his extradition.
Chen has been at the center of sweeping allegations in multiple countries. U.S. prosecutors charged him in October with conspiracy offenses, accusing him of masterminding a multinational cyberfraud empire. The indictment claims the network relied on sophisticated online investment scams, while profits were laundered through a web of legitimate-looking businesses. Prosecutors also alleged that Chen authorized violence against workers inside scam compounds and boasted of generating as much as $30 million a day from fraudulent operations.
Western governments moved swiftly. The U.S. Treasury Department and the U.K. Foreign Office imposed sanctions, while authorities seized assets tied to Chen that included real estate valued at over $100 million and cryptocurrency holdings estimated at $14 billion. Investigators say those digital assets were directly linked to scam proceeds.
Global fallout from Southeast Asia’s scam boom
Online scam centers have spread rapidly across Southeast Asia, particularly in countries where law enforcement oversight is weak. Victims are typically lured into fake cryptocurrency or investment schemes, often losing their life savings. The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that scam victims worldwide lost between $18 billion and $37 billion in 2023 alone.
U.S. officials allege that Chen’s organization defrauded at least 250 Americans of millions of dollars, including one individual who lost $400,000 in cryptocurrency. In 2024, Americans lost an estimated $10 billion to scams originating in Southeast Asia, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
British authorities froze Chen’s U.K.-based businesses and seized luxury properties, including a multimillion-euro mansion and a major office building in London. Other governments soon followed. Singapore launched an investigation and seized assets worth more than 150 million Singapore dollars, along with a yacht. Taiwanese police confiscated 26 luxury vehicles — including a Ferrari, Bugatti, and Porsche — while Hong Kong authorities froze additional financial assets. Each jurisdiction opened parallel probes into Chen’s activities.
Despite the growing legal storm, Chen denied wrongdoing. In a statement issued through his lawyers last November, he said the Prince Group “categorically rejects” allegations of illegal conduct. Cambodian officials also initially took a cautious stance, saying the government does not shield lawbreakers but was not itself accusing Chen or his companies of crimes.
Pressure leaves Cambodia little room to maneuver
Experts say Cambodia’s decision to extradite Chen reflects the scale of international pressure it faced. Jacob Daniel Sims, a transnational crime specialist and visiting fellow at Harvard University’s Asia Center, noted that prolonged inaction was no longer viable.
“Handing Chen Zhi to China was the path of least resistance,” Sims said. “It reduces Western scrutiny while aligning with Beijing’s preference to handle a politically sensitive case outside U.S. or U.K. courts.”
There was no immediate comment from U.S. federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, where Chen had been indicted. Chinese authorities also declined to issue a statement on the extradition of Chen and the two other individuals identified by Cambodia as Xu Ji Liang and Shao Ji Hui.
Inside Southeast Asia’s cybercrime underworld
Cybercrime has flourished in parts of Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia and Myanmar, where casinos and special economic zones have often doubled as hubs for criminal operations. Thousands of trafficked foreign workers have been forced to run “romance” and cryptocurrency scams after being recruited with fake job offers and held in near-slavery conditions.
U.S. prosecutors allege that Chen’s Prince Holding Group constructed at least 10 scam-linked compounds in Cambodia, including sites known as Golden Fortune, Jinbei, and Mango Park. These operations became an embarrassment for Chinese authorities when they began targeting Chinese citizens at scale.
In response, Beijing intensified pressure across the region. In mid-2023, China pushed Myanmar to crack down on scam syndicates, leading to the extradition of several kingpins — some of whom later received death sentences. More recently, China has coordinated with Thailand and Myanmar to free nearly 10,000 people from scam compounds along their shared border. Cambodia has also conducted mass arrests, detaining thousands during raids on scam centers last summer.
A 2023 U.N. human rights report estimated that at least 120,000 people in Myanmar and another 100,000 in Cambodia may have been forced to work in online scam operations. Despite recent crackdowns, experts warn that many of these criminal networks remain active, adapting quickly to enforcement efforts.
The extradition of Chen Zhi underscores how regional cybercrime has become a global issue — and how international pressure can ultimately force governments to act, even against some of their most powerful figures.
