Singapore seizes $115M in assets from Cambodian scam empire operator Chen Zhi

The seizure came after the U.S. Justice Department earlier this month unsealed an indictment against Chen, 37, founder of Prince Holding Group, a multinational conglomerate that Washington said served as a front for "one of Asia's largest transnational criminal organizations".

Chen Zhi, Prince Holding Group chairman. Photo courtesy of the company

Singapore police on Thursday raided multiple locations across the island state "against Chen Zhi and his associates in relation to offences of money laundering and forgery," the force said in a statement.

Officers "seized and issued prohibition of disposal orders against six properties and various financial assets, including bank accounts, securities accounts and cash, with a total estimated value of more than S$150 million ($115 million), police said.

Other assets, including a yacht, 11 cars and multiple bottles of liquor were also seized.

Chen allegedly directed operations of forced labor compounds across Cambodia, where hundreds of trafficked workers were held in prison-like facilities surrounded by high walls and barbed wire.

Under threat of violence, they were forced to execute so-called "pig butchering" scams -- cryptocurrency investment schemes that build trust with victims over time before stealing their funds.

Since around 2015, Prince Holding Group has operated across more than 30 countries under the guise of legitimate real estate, financial services and consumer businesses, U.S. prosecutors said.

Proceeds were laundered in part through the Prince Group's own gambling and cryptocurrency mining operations.

"This case involves a complex, large-scale transnational fraud network that exploits digital and financial infrastructures across multiple jurisdictions," said David Chew, director of the Commercial Affairs Department, Singapore's white-collar crime investigation agency.

"The crimes cross many borders, and witnesses, exhibits and assets have been secured in several jurisdictions," Chew added in the statement.

Chen faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted on wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges.

In coordinated action, British authorities on Tuesday froze 19 London properties worth over 100 million pounds ($131 million) linked to Chen's network, including a 12 million pound mansion.