Inside the shadow empire: how Cambodian billionaire Chen Zhi built a $15B crypto machine

Chen, 37, was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice on charges of money laundering, fraud, and operating forced-labor "scam compounds" in Cambodia. Prosecutors say his conglomerate earned billions through online investment and cryptocurrency schemes that exploited trafficked workers.

The DOJ has seized about 127,271 Bitcoin, worth nearly $15 billion at current rates, in what it called the largest asset confiscation in American history. FBI Director Kash Patel described the case as "one of the largest financial fraud takedowns in history," The Guardian reported.

Sprawling global network

Prince Group began as a property developer in Phnom Penh in 2014 before expanding into banking, finance, tourism, logistics and consumer services. According to corporate records and regional media, it now encompasses more than 100 subsidiaries operating in over 30 countries.

Among its core businesses are Prince Real Estate Group, Prince Huan Yu Real Estate Group and Prince Bank. One subsidiary, Canopy Sands Development, launched Ream City, a $16 billion real-estate megaproject in Sihanoukville, valued at nearly 35% of Cambodia’s 2024 GDP.

To design Ream City, Canopy Sands hired SJ Group, a subsidiary of Singapore’s state-owned investment company Temasek, to handle urban planning and coastal engineering. SJ Group later confirmed its role ended in 2022 and that it holds no ownership or operational stake in Prince Group.

Beyond Cambodia, the group’s financial footprint extended to South Korea. The Korea Times reported that Prince Group executed 52 transactions worth 197 billion won ($138.5 million) through five branches of Korean banks in Cambodia. Roughly 90 billion won ($64 million) remains in accounts at KB, Jeonbuk and Woori Bank, according to South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service.

The scam

Investigators allege that Chen’s network lured victims through social-media and messaging-app outreach, promising high-return cryptocurrency investments. Once victims transferred their funds, the money was siphoned off and laundered through complex blockchain techniques: large sums were fragmented into small transactions across hundreds of digital wallets before being reconsolidated to mask their origin.

At the human level, U.S. authorities accuse Prince Group of running forced-labor scam compounds in Cambodia. Thousands of people, many trafficked under false job offers of "easy, high-paying work," were confined behind walls and barbed wire and compelled to make fraudulent investment calls.

According to U.S. documents, Chen personally oversaw the operations and kept detailed records of each site, including so-called "PhoneFarms," automated rooms filled with thousands of smartphones used for mass online scams. He allegedly ordered subordinates to punish uncooperative workers, instructing them not to "beat people to death."

Cambodia’s response

Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior said last week that Chen’s citizenship had been granted "in accordance with the law." Ministry spokesperson Touch Sokhak added that Cambodia "does not protect individuals who violate the law" and urged the U.S. and U.K. to present solid evidence under international law, AP reported.

Chen was awarded the royal honorific Neak Oknha in 2020 for his philanthropic work through the Prince Foundation, which donated to hospitals and schools during the Covid-19 pandemic. His companies have not responded publicly to the latest charges, and since Oct. 16, Prince Group’s previous online statements denying wrongdoing have been inaccessible.