The chair of Prince Group, Chen Zhi, identified as the figure behind a massive crime compound (organization) based in Cambodia, was arrested in Cambodia and extradited to China.
On the 7th (local time), according to AFP, Cambodia's Interior Ministry said it had arrested three Chinese nationals — Chen Zhi, Xu Jiliang, and Shao Zhihui — and handed them over to China.
The ministry said, "This operation was carried out on the 6th at the request of the Chinese authorities after months of joint investigative cooperation within the scope of collaboration to combat transnational crime," adding, "Chen Zhi's Cambodian nationality was revoked in December last year by royal decree."
Chen Zhi is the founder of the multinational conglomerate Prince Holding Group. He is also under indictment in the United States on human trafficking charges.
Earlier, in Oct. last year, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted Chen Zhi on charges of presiding over labor camps in Cambodia that forced trafficked workers to carry out cryptocurrency fraud schemes. The amount defrauded through such schemes alone is known to reach several billion dollars. That is why the U.S. Department of Justice sees Prince Group as having acted as a front organization for Asia's largest transnational crime compound.
The U.S. Department of Justice also filed the largest-ever forfeiture action and seized about 127,271 bitcoins, worth more than $11.0 billion at current prices (about 15.94 trillion won).
Meanwhile, it is understood that dozens of scam centers operate in Cambodia and tens of thousands of people are committing online fraud. Some joined voluntarily, while others appear to be trafficked labor. The industry is believed to have formed an illegal market worth several billion dollars.