Prosecutors in Asia seize yachts, luxury cars and cash from man accused of running cyberscams

Audio By Carbonatix

BANGKOK (AP) — Prosecutors in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore seized hundreds of millions of dollars in assets belonging to a Cambodian businessman whom the U.S. accuses of heading a global scam syndicate.

It's the latest in a string of investigations and asset seizures that began when American prosecutors charged Chen Zhi, the founder of Cambodia’s Prince Holding Group, with running a large-scale cyber-scam network whose operations span countires including the U.S., the U.K. and Palau.

U.S. authorities charged Chen with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy in an indictment revealed Oct. 14, alongside a massive seizure of crypto assets that included some $14 billion in bitcoin. The U.S. and U.K. government also announced joint sanctions against Chen and his collaborators, as well as his company.

Networks of scammers based in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines have provoked increasing concern in recent years, with the U.N. estimating that they take in tens of billions of dollars every year from victims across the world via schemes that range from fake investments to romance-based scams.

They allege that the Prince Holding Group criminal network scammed 250 victims in the U.S., according to the indictment.

The Prince Holding Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A growing list of asset seizures depict a man with hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of assets spread across jurisdictions.

Singapore launched an investigation on Oct. 30 after announcing the seizure of financial assets belonging to Chen worth more than $150 million Singaporean dollars ($114 million), as well as a yacht and shelves of liquor.

On Tuesday, Taiwanese prosecutors seized assets from Chen Zhi worth $150 million while detaining 25 suspects. That included 26 luxury cars including a Ferrari, Bugatti and a Porsche, as well as 11 apartments in an upscale building in Taipei, prosecutors said. Taiwanese media identified it as the same building where celebrity and Mandarin pop superstar Jay Chou lives.

The same day Hong Kong, police announced the seizure of $2.75 billion Hong Kong dollars ($353 million) worth of assets made up of mostly cash, stocks and other funds, which local media identified as belonging to Chen Zhi.

U.K. authorities announced seizures of a $12 million pound ($15.6 million) mansion in North London and a $100 million pound ($130 million) office building on Oct. 14.

Chen is a Chinese national who gained Cambodian citizenship and a place in the Cambodian elite. Prince has multiple businesses, running a bank and investments in real estate in the country.

However, prosecutors say the bulk of his wealth came from scamming. According to the U.S. indictment, Chen once bragged that the so-called “pig butchering” scam was pulling in $30 million a day.

Chen has served as an adviser to Prime Minister Hun Manet and his father, former Prime Minister Hun Sen, and was honored with the title “neak oknha” — equivalent to an English lord. Pheaktra Neth, the Minister of Information for Cambodia's government, said he had no comment in response to questions from the AP.