Crypto pig butchering kingpin who lost $15bn in Bitcoin to US gov. arrested in Cambodia
- Chen Zhi has been arrested.
- The Prince Group chair is accused of helping run forced labour scam compounds and stealing billions of dollars worth of crypto.
- Zhi’s arrest will likely deal a significant blow to these operations.
Authorities in Cambodia just caught up with Asia’s biggest alleged crypto criminal.
Chen Zhi, chair of a conglomerate accused of running dozens of forced labour scam compounds and stealing billions of dollars worth of crypto, has been arrested in Cambodia and deported to China for investigation by relevant authorities, the Cambodia-China Timesreported on Wednesday.
The report comes after Zhi and Prince Group, the multinational where he acts as chair, have faced a heightened crackdown from authorities in recent months.
In October, US authorities, including the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, filed a civil forfeiture complaint for 127,271 Bitcoin tied to Zhi, worth approximately $15 billion at the time.
The same day, the US and the UK designated Prince Group as a Transnational Criminal Organisation.
Later that month, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control updated its sanctions list with 25 new crypto wallet addresses belonging to Zhi that contain some $780 million worth of Bitcoin.
In November, Prince Group said in a statement that the firm categorically rejects the notion that it or Zhi engaged in any unlawful activity.
Scam compounds
Zhi is a 38-year-old Chinese émigré who has since renounced his Chinese citizenship.
Since approximately 2015, he has acted as the chair of Prince Group, which operates dozens of businesses in more than 30 countries.
On the surface, Prince Group is focused on real estate development and financial services. However, in secret, the firm, guided by Zhi and other executives, grew the company into one of Asia’s largest transnational criminal organisations, prosecutors in the US allege.
International authorities and human rights groups say the multinational runs and oversees dozens of forced labour scam compounds across Southeast Asia.
Victims are lured to the compounds, often with offers of well-paid jobs in IT and administration. But when they arrive they are imprisoned and forced to work on pig butchering scams, often with the excuse that they must pay off phoney debts.
Pig butchering scams involve criminals building deep trust with victims through fake online relationships before convincing them to invest heavily in fake crypto or investment platforms and then stealing all their money.
The funds stolen through these scams are then laundered through a complex network of over 100 shell and holding companies worldwide, according to a press release from the US Treasury Department.
In 2024, criminals stole over $4 billion through pig butchering scams, a 40% increase from 2023, according to Chainalysis, a blockchain security firm.
In June, an Amnesty International report identified at least 53 compounds used for pig butchering scams in Cambodia.
Victims interviewed by the human rights organisation reported slavery, human trafficking, child labour, and torture being carried out by criminal gangs running the compounds on a vast scale.
Zhi’s arrest will likely deal a significant blow to these operations.
Tim Craig is DL News’ Edinburgh-based DeFi Correspondent. Reach out with tips at
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