Cambodia pledges to pay tuition after scholarships linked to scam kingpin Chen Zhi are axed

Cambodian authorities deported tycoon Chen Zhi to China this month following allegations he ran multibillion-dollar internet fraud operations from Cambodia using trafficked scammers.

U.S. authorities indicted Chinese-born Chen in October on fraud and money-laundering charges, alleging his firm Prince Group was a front for a transnational cybercrime network.

Chen, who founded and headed the internationally sanctioned conglomerate, also started a foundation in 2015. A scholarship in his name was launched in 2021 to support Cambodians pursuing bachelor's degrees, its website says.

Several students at the public Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) told AFP they were informed by a Prince representative on Tuesday that their full-tuition scholarships and living stipends had been cancelled.

"They said their company has a problem," said Narak, 20, who studies computer science.

But RUPP told scholarship recipients on Thursday that the "education ministry will cover the tuition until we graduate", he said.

Khuon Vicheka, a spokeswoman for the education ministry, told AFP that officials were working with universities to ensure 418 students who had been awarded the scholarship could complete their degrees.

"We will not leave them behind," she said.

A Prince statement announcing the scholarship's launch said it would help to "train, nurture and educate the leaders of tomorrow".

A poor student from a rural area, Narak said the scholarship -- which had covered his annual tuition fee of $500 and $50 monthly stipend since late 2024 -- "had lifted a burden" for his family.

But after learning last year about how Chen allegedly made his fortune, he felt "very guilty" and had even thought about giving up his scholarship, the third-year student said.

"If his business is bad, I think he wanted to launder money through education because people may not be suspicious about him," Narak told AFP, who asked to be identified by one name due to safety concerns.

Cambodian authorities this month suspended sales at five luxury properties owned by Prince Group, while the U.S.-sanctioned Prince Bank was ordered into liquidation.

A 21-year-old RUPP student, who asked not to be named, said the end of his scholarship had left him worried.

But the third-year IT student had scant sympathy for his former benefactor.

"If he (Chen) did commit the alleged crimes, he should face the law."