Chinese authorities have formally welcomed back US- indicted tycoon Chen Zhi after his extradition from Cambodia, where he was handed over by the government on Wednesday at Beijing's request. Chen, chairman of conglomerate Prince Group, which is accused of running a multibillion-dollar online fraud operation, was seen being escorted by heavily armed police as he disembarked a plane at Beijing airport.
Chen, 38, faces a range of serious charges in the US, including wire fraud conspiracy and money-laundering conspiracy. He is also wanted on suspicion of operating an illegal casino network in China, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Authorities have linked Prince Group, with operations spanning over 100 businesses across 30 countries, to a global scam centre network that has duped victims worldwide.
The move marks the latest twist in efforts by countries in Southeast Asia and beyond to crack down on sprawling compounds housing tens of thousands of workers, many of whom are trafficked and forced into scams. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said authorities were collaborating with Cambodia to combat cross-border telecom fraud scams.
Chen, a Chinese national born in 1985, had his Cambodian citizenship revoked before being extradited. The liquidation of Prince Bank, a lender founded by Chen, was announced by the country's central bank on Thursday, as part of a series of moves against entities linked to the group across Asia.
The US Justice Department indicted Chen in October, and authorities have frozen assets worth $354m and $116m linked to the company in several countries. Chen's conglomerate has denied allegations of wrongdoing, describing them as "baseless" and aimed at unlawfully seizing billions of dollars.
China's Public Security Bureau had set up a special task force to investigate individuals involved with Cambodia's Prince Group since 2020, branding it a "mega cross-border online gambling syndicate". Beijing will now be able to interrogate Chen and his associates, potentially paving the way for further investigations into the global scam centre network.
Chen, 38, faces a range of serious charges in the US, including wire fraud conspiracy and money-laundering conspiracy. He is also wanted on suspicion of operating an illegal casino network in China, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Authorities have linked Prince Group, with operations spanning over 100 businesses across 30 countries, to a global scam centre network that has duped victims worldwide.
The move marks the latest twist in efforts by countries in Southeast Asia and beyond to crack down on sprawling compounds housing tens of thousands of workers, many of whom are trafficked and forced into scams. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said authorities were collaborating with Cambodia to combat cross-border telecom fraud scams.
Chen, a Chinese national born in 1985, had his Cambodian citizenship revoked before being extradited. The liquidation of Prince Bank, a lender founded by Chen, was announced by the country's central bank on Thursday, as part of a series of moves against entities linked to the group across Asia.
The US Justice Department indicted Chen in October, and authorities have frozen assets worth $354m and $116m linked to the company in several countries. Chen's conglomerate has denied allegations of wrongdoing, describing them as "baseless" and aimed at unlawfully seizing billions of dollars.
China's Public Security Bureau had set up a special task force to investigate individuals involved with Cambodia's Prince Group since 2020, branding it a "mega cross-border online gambling syndicate". Beijing will now be able to interrogate Chen and his associates, potentially paving the way for further investigations into the global scam centre network.
. It's like they just gave him a free pass to return and face justice here, or at least, that's what it seems like 
. The whole thing reeks of corruption and favoritism. I mean, what's in it for China? Are they really going to use this guy as a scapegoat to take the heat off their own involvement in these online scams? 
It just doesn't add up...
. china's been cracking down on its own entities linked to prince group too, like liquidating a bank and freezing assets worth millions 
. but meanwhile, the guy himself is now back under chinese custody 
. it'll be interesting to see what info they extract from him and how that affects investigations globally 
!!! he's in SO much trouble tho 
38 yrs old n still facin all these charges lol 
wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy... and ppl say he's been runnin a multibillion dollar scam operation 
like wut r u even doin chen?? 
prince group is a whole thing tho... 100 businesses in 30 countries n all linked to scams 
chinese authorities r collabatin wit cambodia 2 tackle telecom fraud scams 
now china can interrogate him & his associates... potently opens up more investigations 
...somebody needs to hold them accountable 
. I mean, who needs a vacation when you've got a multibillion-dollar online fraud operation to run, right? 
. But seriously though, it's all kinda sketchy how they caught him & now Beijing gets to interrogate him & his associates 
. The fact that Prince Group has been linked to this global scam centre network is just wild 
. I guess China's cracking down on those sprawling compounds where thousands of workers are being trafficked & forced into scams 
. Better late than never, right? 
Anyway, the US Justice Department still says they're not done with Chen yet... what's next? 
he's got a ton of charges against him in the US including wire fraud conspiracy & money-laundering conspiracy 
anyway, this extradition deal is super interesting cuz now China gets to ask Chen some tough questions 
and potentially crack down on more people involved in the scam network 
I don't trust it one bit. The fact that they're just extraditing him without even questioning him properly is fishy. What are they really after here? 
so China's welcoming back this US-indicted tycoon and he just walks right in... like everything is cool? 
I've been following this story, it's like a real-life game of cat and mouse. China cracking down on this massive scam operation and its US connections is about time 
. It just goes to show how far these scams can reach, across borders and into every corner of the globe. I guess China's taking a step towards holding its own citizens accountable for their actions 
.
. It's like they say, "the truth will come out... eventually" 
. And what's really interesting is that China just 'happened' to have a special task force waiting for him in Beijing – talk about convenient 
.
It's like China is trying to cover its own tracks here.
how does one man get involved with a whole global scam centre network?
. I'm low-key impressed that the Chinese authorities are taking action against Prince Group and its alleged scam centre network 
.
. Can't wait for some juicy updates on this story 
. And the fact that he was extradited from Cambodia on his country's request? Like, what even is going on over there? 
.
. Anyway, it's just a wild case, you know? 
the fact that China set up a special task force back in 2020 just shows how determined they were to take down Prince Group... and now we get to see if Chen's got some smart lawyers or not 
either way, this is a big win for law enforcement - let's hope they don't just let Chen off with a slap on the wrist