On January 7, 2026, news broke that Chen Zhi, founder of Cambodia’s Prince Group, had been arrested in Cambodia and extradited to China. At just 38 years old, this business magnate had built a vast empire in Cambodia, ostensibly operating legitimate businesses in real estate and financial services.
In October 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Chen Zhi with orchestrating a transnational "pig-butchering" cryptocurrency scam, seizing approximately 127,271 bitcoins valued at an astonishing $15 billion. The announcement sent immediate ripples through the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin prices on Gate experiencing short-term volatility and a marked increase in compliance awareness across the industry.
Incident Recap
According to the Cambodia-China Times, Prince Group founder and chairman Chen Zhi was apprehended in Cambodia and has already been extradited to China for investigation by the relevant authorities. Reports indicate Chen was arrested just after 8 a.m., catching the local community off guard with the speed of the operation. Despite his arrest, Prince Group’s "legitimate" business units—such as Prince Bank and Prince Real Estate—continue to operate normally.
Chen Zhi hails from Xiao’ao Town, Lianjiang County, Fujian, a coastal village known for its fishing culture. He left school before graduating from middle school and began working early, eventually becoming an internet café administrator. Leveraging profits from gray-market activities related to online gaming, Chen made his "first pot of gold." In 2009, he moved to Cambodia, assembled teams for "pig-butchering" and lottery scams, and formally established Prince Group in 2015.
Prince Group’s Crypto Crime Network
Prince Group invested in resorts and hotels in Cambodia, becoming one of the country’s largest conglomerates. However, the group used fraudulent job ads to lure workers, then subjected
