On Oct. 8, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York indicted Chen Zhi, 38, accusing him of leading a transnational criminal syndicate spanning over 30 countries and engaging in large-scale fraud and money laundering.
Six days later, on Oct. 14, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) seized 127,271 bitcoins held by Chen — valued at nearly US$15 billion — the largest single asset seizure in U.S. judicial history.
Simultaneously, the U.K. government froze 19 luxury properties located in London that were owned by Chen.
The news sent shockwaves through international financial and diplomatic circles.
Born in December 1987 in Fujian’s Lianjiang County, Chen Zhi was described by former classmates as short in stature (1.6–1.63 meters) and academically average, dropping out after his second year of middle school.
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He worked as an internet café administrator in Shanghai before discovering illegal private gaming servers, known as “game piracy networks.”
These servers let players exchange cash for in-game items — a form of copyright infringement and fraud.
When one of his servers was shut down in 2009, Chen fled to Cambodia, fearing arrest. That same year, he began building what would become his “business empire.”
The rise of the Prince Group
In 2015, at age 27, Chen founded Prince Group, focusing on real estate development.
By 2018, he had secured a banking license and established Prince Bank.
In 2020, King Norodom Sihamoni awarded him the honorary title “Neak Oknha,” bestowed on donors contributing at least US$500,000 to the Cambodian government.
That same year, Prince Group obtained its fourth airline license, opened luxury shopping centers in Phnom Penh, and launched five-star hotels in Sihanoukville.
At its peak, the conglomerate operated dozens of subsidiaries across 30 countries, publicly dealing in real estate, finance, and consumer services — but prosecutors say these ventures concealed a global fraud and trafficking network.
According to the DOJ indictment, Chen’s organization built “scam compounds” in Cambodia, luring victims from across Asia, the U.S., and Europe with false job offers and investment schemes.
Once inside, victims were forced into online fraud operations known as “pig-butchering scams” — a combination of psychological manipulation and physical confinement.
Investigators said the network maintained 76,000 fake social media accounts, operated by workers trapped inside “phone farms,” to promote crypto scams, circulate disinformation, and identify new victims.
By 2018, these operations generated as much as US$30 million per month in revenue.
Luxury, excess, and the ‘Golden Family’
British authorities revealed that Chen purchased a £12 million mansion in north London in 2019 and a £95 million office tower in the city’s financial district.
In the United States, he and associates acquired New York properties, private jets, superyachts, and even a Picasso painting.
His wife, known online as Eva, flaunted their wealth on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) and other platforms, showing off:
- A 100-meter home aquarium housing live sharks
- A 24K gold Steinway piano reportedly worth 7 million RMB (US$970,000)
- A RMB 5 million (US$680,000) hand-carved canopy bed
- Six private jets and a fleet of Rolls-Royces in Phnom Penh
Eva, a former livestream host from Sichuan, became a social-media sensation in 2023 for her “gilded lifestyle.” Netizens later identified her husband as Chen Zhi, the elusive “Prince” of Cambodia.
A BBC Chinese investigation published on Oct. 24 titled “Chen Zhi: The Mastermind Behind a $14 Billion Crypto Fraud Empire” raised deeper questions:
“The source of Chen’s funding has never been clear. In 2019, while applying for a bank account on the Isle of Man, Chen listed an unnamed ‘uncle’ who allegedly gave him US$2 million in 2011 to start his first real-estate company — but no evidence was ever provided.”
Taiwanese commentator Huang Shicong suggested Chen’s wealth was too vast to come solely from fraud.
“He’s not just a con artist — he’s a financial front. Chen Zhi likely served as a money launderer for China’s Fujian faction, tied directly to Xi Jinping.”
Huang argued that the U.S. prosecution might be more than a criminal case:
“This could be Washington sending a warning to Zhongnanhai. The message: cooperate — or we’ll expose who Chen really worked for.”
Insiders: A pawn of power
Financial blogger Lao Pan offered another perspective: “Every glittering milestone in Chen’s rise hides an untold secret. He arrived in Cambodia in 2009 — just after the global financial crisis devastated Southeast Asia. At the time, most Chinese immigrants were struggling with small shops and survival. Chen, barely 20, somehow built a corporate empire in six years and gained Cambodian citizenship in five. That defies all business logic.”
He added: “Gambling licenses in Cambodia were strictly regulated in 2015. Yet Chen got one easily. He survived every scandal untouched. That doesn’t happen without powerful protection.”
Lao Pan concluded that Chen’s story “makes sense only if you assume state backing.”
Since Oct. 14, when the U.S. announced asset seizures, Chen Zhi’s whereabouts have remained unknown.
Once one of Cambodia’s most influential figures, the self-styled “Prince” has vanished — perhaps hiding abroad, perhaps protected by forces greater than himself. But as one analyst put it: “Justice may be delayed, but it never disappears.”
