Editorial | Regional cooperation led to arrest of alleged scam kingpin Chen Zhi
The cross-border nature of his alleged criminal network required governments and law enforcement agencies to work together
Chen and his alleged criminal enterprise have been accused of running scam centres in Cambodia and Myanmar by using fake adverts to lure jobseekers who were then confined in forced-labour camps to commit online fraud under threat of violence and torture. He was among three Chinese nationals extradited by Cambodia at China’s request. Phnom Penh said law enforcement from both countries had worked on the case – a welcome development.
Chen founded Prince Holding Group, which has been designated by the US Treasury Department as a “transnational criminal organisation”, and was allegedly involved in scams, telecoms fraud, human trafficking, torture, money laundering and illegal online gambling. The group has been described as one of Cambodia’s largest corporations, with companies spanning real estate, banking, finance, tourism, logistics, technology, food and beverages and lifestyle. It’s extraordinary that Chen and his cronies were able to conduct their alleged criminal empire for so long and on such a scale.
Besides being criminally indicted, Chen and others linked to the Prince Group have had their assets seized in the US, including US$14 billion worth of bitcoins. Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan have also seized assets; Britain has placed Chen under sanctions. An investigative task force was formed as early as 2020 in Beijing targeting Chen and his associates. But the cross-border nature of their alleged criminal enterprise required the cooperation of governments and parallel law enforcement agencies.
With some success, China has been pushing Southeast Asian countries to work together on regional crimes such as telecoms fraud. They have a shared interest in catching alleged transnational criminals like Chen and breaking up their networks.