Zhi’s business empire spanned banking, aviation, real estate, and luxury resorts. In 2018, he obtained a commercial banking license to establish Prince Bank and acquired citizenship from Cyprus and Vanuatu, allegedly to facilitate international money movement. Investigators now allege those moves were part of an elaborate effort to obscure the origins of his wealth.
World’s Largest Crypto Scam Exposed
The U.S. Treasury Department has since frozen more than $14 billion in Bitcoin linked to Zhi’s accounts—an amount officials say was funneled through hundreds of shell companies and crypto wallets. The sanctions announcement revealed that Prince Group operated at least ten “scam compounds” across Cambodia, including Golden Fortune Science and Technology Park, where victims were allegedly beaten, trafficked, and forced to conduct online fraud.
Victim of the Streets: Woman Found Dead in Harlem Identified by Locals as “Sweetie” – USA Herald
“These compounds profited from a litany of transnational crimes,” the report said, citing sextortion, illegal online gambling, corruption, and money laundering as part of the network’s operations. One investigator described Chen Zhi as “the mastermind behind a sprawling cyber-fraud empire built on human suffering.”
Global Fallout and Vanishing Act
The aftermath has been seismic. The Cambodian Central Bank has issued statements assuring depositors that Prince Bank remains solvent, while South Korean authorities have frozen $64 million in bank deposits linked to the group. Singapore and Thailand have launched their own investigations into Prince subsidiaries.
