Chen Zhi, the chair of Prince Group, who is known to have amassed enormous wealth by running a large-scale scam compound in Cambodia, has reportedly disappeared.
According to local outlets the Cambodia Daily and the Khmer Times on Oct. 18, as the U.S. and U.K. governments announced sanctions on Oct. 14 against Prince Group and others, Chen Zhi's whereabouts have reportedly become unclear.
Born in China in 1987, Chen Zhi acquired Cambodian citizenship in 2014 and is said to have rapidly expanded his businesses through collusion with politics, including serving as an adviser to former Prime Minister Hun Sen, the most powerful figure in Cambodia.
Authorities in the United States and China view him as being behind Cambodia's criminal compounds and have moved to impose legal sanctions on him and Prince Group. The U.S. Department of Justice said it indicted Chen Zhi on charges including online financial fraud and money laundering. If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison. The Department of Justice also filed a lawsuit to seize 127,271 bitcoins worth about $15 billion (about 21 trillion won) that Chen Zhi has held.
Chinese authorities also reportedly formed a special investigation team in 2020, viewing Prince Group as having generated illegal income through fraud. Some have also raised the possibility that Chen Zhi's Cambodian citizenship could be revoked and that he could be extradited to China.
However, it is not currently known where he is staying. Chen Zhi reportedly stepped down as chair of the board of Prince Bank, an affiliate of Prince Group, in Dec. last year, drawing interest in the background.
In particular, as pressure and sanctions were applied to Prince Group, signs of a "bank run" (mass withdrawals of deposits) have appeared at Prince Bank. After strong sanctions by the U.S. and U.K. governments, customers flocked to major branches in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital, to withdraw deposits, causing chaos.
However, Prince Bank said, "We operate independently and legally under the supervision and regulation of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC)," adding that all services are being maintained normally.
Prince Group, which conducts a wide range of businesses including real estate, finance, hotels, and telecommunications in Cambodia and elsewhere, is suspected of building compounds used as casinos and scam workshops and operating them through proxies. The "Taizi (Prince) compound," a criminal complex near Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital, where foreigners including South Koreans were detained and mobilized for scams such as voice phishing, is also known to have been run by Prince Group.