Alleged crypto scam boss linked to $15 billion bitcoin haul deported to China after Cambodia arrest

Chen Zhi, the founder and chairman of the Prince Group conglomerate, has been arrested in Cambodia and deported to China at Beijing's request, according to Cambodia's information ministry. U.S. authorities allege Chen directed forced-labor scam compounds in Cambodia that generated billions through "pig-butchering" crypto investment and romance fraud schemes. In October, the U.S. Department of Justice filed its largest-ever forfeiture action, seeking to seize approximately $15 billion in bitcoin linked to the alleged scheme. Cambodian authorities confirmed Chen's citizenship was revoked late last year. The case is complicated by a geopolitical dispute, as China previously accused the U.S. government of orchestrating a separate 2020 cyber theft of over 120,000 bitcoin, claiming some of those coins later surfaced in the U.S. custody related to the Chen case, though U.S. authorities maintain their seized bitcoin stems from fraud connected to Chen and Prince Group.

(Source：The Block)