Chinese authorities have taken custody of Chen Zhi, the businessman at the center of what U.S. officials describe as one of the largest crypto scam and money laundering operations ever uncovered.
The move places the alleged kingpin behind a multibillion-dollar “pig butchering” network directly into China’s criminal justice system, raising questions about how Beijing will prosecute one of the most complex transnational crypto cases to date.
Cambodia Hands Over Chen Zhi After Revoking Citizenship
Cambodia China Times and statements from Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior stated that Chen Zhi, along with two associates, Xu Ji Liang and Shao Ji Hui, was arrested on January 6 following months of joint investigations by Cambodian and Chinese authorities.
Beijing had desired the three to be deported to China. According to Cambodian authorities, the operation was conducted as a bilateral cooperation agreement that involved transnational crime.
In December 2025, Chen had already been removed as the royal decree had revoked his Cambodian citizenship, paving the way.
Chen, 38, has been the chairman and founder of Prince Group, a conglomerate that started its operations in Cambodia in the year 2015 and has interests in real estate, finance, and hospitality.
Although the company was publicly a legitimate regional company, U.S. and U.K. authorities have alleged that it was a cover to facilitate a massive criminal network, which they claim was developed through online frauds, money laundering, and forced labor.
Prince Group has refuted all the allegations.
The deportation is possible after the enforcement efforts by the United States in October, when the federal prosecutors sought to seize over 127,000 bitcoin they claimed was tied to wallets operated by Chen and his network.
By that point, the Bitcoin was worth approximately 15 billion dollars, which is the biggest cryptocurrency seizure to date associated with the use of online fraud.
The U.S. Treasury and the U.K. government had jointly described Prince Group as a transnational criminal group, and U.S. sanctions had been extended to dozens of crypto wallets containing hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin.
After Deportation, Chinese Courts Set to Handle Global Crypto Fraud Case
The schemes, commonly known as pig-butchering scams, involved building trust with victims before directing them to fake crypto trading platforms.
Once funds were deposited, the platforms disappeared. Investigators say the proceeds were funneled through more than 100 shell companies, crypto exchanges, and mining operations before being consolidated into private Bitcoin wallets.
The case now takes a new turn with Chen being back in China. The Chinese law enables the authorities to prosecute the citizens in case a serious crime was committed abroad, especially when it dealt with a massive fraud, money laundering, and human trafficking.
Even though the official charges are not yet declared, Chinese courts in the past have sentenced very harshly in similar cases, such as life imprisonment, and in extreme cases involving violence or forced labor, the death penalty.
Asset forfeiture is also anticipated by the Chinese authorities. Coordination with foreign governments is likely, given that U.S. officials have already seized billions of dollars in Bitcoin connected to the case.
Those assets could ultimately be used for victim compensation if courts approve such measures.
The arrest comes amid a broader global crackdown on crypto-enabled fraud networks operating across Southeast Asia.
Over the past year, regulators and law enforcement agencies have worked with major crypto firms to freeze and recover illicit funds.
Tether, Binance, Coinbase, and blockchain analytics firms have all assisted in tracing and blocking assets tied to pig-butchering scams.
U.S. data shows reported losses from these schemes reached $3.6 billion in 2024, showing their growing scale.
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