Chinese Authorities Make Surprise Arrest of Alleged Scam Kingpin Chen Zhi After Extradition from Cambodia
In a move that highlights the growing efforts by governments worldwide to crack down on transnational organized crime syndicates, Chinese authorities have made the surprise arrest of alleged scam kingpin Chen Zhi at Beijing's airport after his extradition from Cambodia. The US has indicted Chen for wire fraud conspiracy and money-laundering conspiracy, linking Prince Group to a network of global scam centers.
Chen, who chairs a conglomerate with operations in over 30 countries, was taken into custody while wearing handcuffs and a hood at Beijing's airport. CCTV described him as the "leader of a major transnational gambling and fraud crime syndicate." The US Justice Department had indicted Chen in October for his alleged role in a multibillion-dollar online fraud operation.
The arrest comes after months-long joint investigations with China, which has seen a surge in cross-border telecom fraud scams. Chinese authorities have been working closely with Cambodian authorities to dismantle the networks, and Cambodia's central bank announced the liquidation of Prince Bank, a lender founded by Chen.
Prince Group has denied US allegations of criminal activity by Chen, calling them baseless and aimed at seizing billions of dollars. The company operates businesses ranging from real estate and financial services to banking, leisure, and hospitality.
CCTV released a wanted list of key members of the "Chen Zhi criminal group," urging them to surrender. Beijing's public security bureau had set up a special taskforce to investigate Prince Group in 2020, labeling it a "mega cross-border online gambling syndicate."
The global scope of Prince Group's alleged operations has been revealed by authorities in Hong Kong and Singapore, which have imposed sanctions on the company. Weeks after the US indictment, authorities in these countries froze or seized assets worth $354m and $116m linked to Prince Group.
As governments worldwide step up their efforts to combat transnational organized crime, Chen Zhi's arrest marks a significant development in the battle against global scams.
In a move that highlights the growing efforts by governments worldwide to crack down on transnational organized crime syndicates, Chinese authorities have made the surprise arrest of alleged scam kingpin Chen Zhi at Beijing's airport after his extradition from Cambodia. The US has indicted Chen for wire fraud conspiracy and money-laundering conspiracy, linking Prince Group to a network of global scam centers.
Chen, who chairs a conglomerate with operations in over 30 countries, was taken into custody while wearing handcuffs and a hood at Beijing's airport. CCTV described him as the "leader of a major transnational gambling and fraud crime syndicate." The US Justice Department had indicted Chen in October for his alleged role in a multibillion-dollar online fraud operation.
The arrest comes after months-long joint investigations with China, which has seen a surge in cross-border telecom fraud scams. Chinese authorities have been working closely with Cambodian authorities to dismantle the networks, and Cambodia's central bank announced the liquidation of Prince Bank, a lender founded by Chen.
Prince Group has denied US allegations of criminal activity by Chen, calling them baseless and aimed at seizing billions of dollars. The company operates businesses ranging from real estate and financial services to banking, leisure, and hospitality.
CCTV released a wanted list of key members of the "Chen Zhi criminal group," urging them to surrender. Beijing's public security bureau had set up a special taskforce to investigate Prince Group in 2020, labeling it a "mega cross-border online gambling syndicate."
The global scope of Prince Group's alleged operations has been revealed by authorities in Hong Kong and Singapore, which have imposed sanctions on the company. Weeks after the US indictment, authorities in these countries froze or seized assets worth $354m and $116m linked to Prince Group.
As governments worldwide step up their efforts to combat transnational organized crime, Chen Zhi's arrest marks a significant development in the battle against global scams.
i mean i know he's gotta answer to the US for his alleged crimes but come on, 30 countries? that's like some kinda secret society or something. and prince group is just pretending they don't know anything about it, lol like who wouldn't be involved with some multibillion-dollar online scam operation? 
anyway, glad china's getting in on the game and taking down these global scammers. maybe now they'll crack down on all the phishing scams plaguing chinese citizens too 
they arrested this guy chen zhi at beijing airport and now he's facing charges for wire fraud conspiracy and money-laundering conspiracy... like, what's going on with these scams tho? 
i remember when paypal was still all the rage back in 2008... u thought those days were over but it looks like scammers are just adapting to new tech 
. and now china's working closely with cambodia to take down prince group which is linked to this guy... talk about a global conspiracy 
. anyway, gotta respect the authorities stepping up their game 
.
Like I'm not saying that Chen Zhi is actually innocent or anything 
... but let's put things into perspective here. The US indictment is pretty damning, and if he was involved in a multibillion-dollar online fraud operation, then yeah, that's some serious stuff 
.
?
. I'm not saying it's okay to break the law or anything, but we should be careful not to assume that everyone involved here was equally guilty 
China just arrested the alleged scam kingpin Chen Zhi at Beijing airport, after extraditing him from Cambodia 
. This is huge news! I think it shows that governments are finally taking transnational organized crime seriously. I mean, a multibillion-dollar online fraud operation? That's crazy 
. The US has been investigating Prince Group for months, and now it seems like the Chinese authorities have joined forces to bring them down.
. Anyway, this is a big win for law enforcement, and I'm rooting for them to take down any other scammers who think they can operate globally 
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and it's crazy how they managed to catch him at the airport with handcuffs on! I mean, I know he was wanted by the US, but you'd think someone would've seen him coming if he was just a simple scam kingpin. 
. Anyway, this is definitely a big win for law enforcement 
.
. i mean, prince group is denying all allegations and calling them baseless, but still, the global scope of these operations is kinda mind-blowing 
and its crazy how he got extradited from cambodia to china, what was that process like for him? 
. But it looks like Chen Zhi's plans for scamming the world just got a major setback. Guess you could say justice finally caught up with him, and it feels good 
. Now, let's see how this plays out, but one thing's for sure, more people will be safer thanks to his arrest 
.
! I mean, it makes sense that he'd get pinched since everyone knew about his shady business dealings. It's crazy how these big corporations can be hiding all sorts of scams and crimes behind their fancy logos. Like, Prince Group thinks they're above the law just because they've got a bunch of branches in different countries? Nope, not buying it!