'Operating a crime complex' Cambodian company chairman missing…coins worth 21 trillion won seized

U.S. indicts Prince Group chairman Chen Z on fraud charges

Affiliate bank faces bank run

Chairman Chen Z of Prince Group, who is known to have amassed enormous wealth by operating large-scale fraud complexes in Cambodia, is reported to have gone missing.

According to local outlets The Cambodia Daily and Khmer Times on the 18th, following the U.S. and U.K. governments' announcement of sanctions against Prince Group and others on the 14th, Chairman Chen Z's whereabouts are unknown and there are reports he is missing. Although Chen Z had exerted strong influence in Cambodia, serving as an adviser to former Prime Minister Hun Sen, authorities in the U.S. and China have pursued legal sanctions against him and Prince Group.

The U.S. Department of Justice said it has indicted Chen Z on charges of online financial fraud and money laundering. If convicted, he could face up to 40 years in prison. The DOJ also filed a lawsuit to seize about $15 billion (approximately 21 trillion won) worth of bitcoin — 127,271 coins — that Chen Z held.

Chinese authorities are also said to have formed a special investigation team in 2020, viewing Prince Group as having generated illegal proceeds from fraud. There has been speculation about the possibility of revoking Chen Z's Cambodian citizenship and extraditing him to China, but his current whereabouts remain unknown. Chen Z is reported to have stepped down from the chairmanship of the board of Prince Bank, a Prince Group affiliate, in December last year, which has drawn interest regarding the reasons behind it.

As pressure and sanctions mounted against Prince Group, which has been pointed to as being behind the Cambodian fraud complexes, Prince Bank showed signs of a 'bank run' (mass withdrawals). After the strong sanctions by the U.S. and U.K., customers rushed to withdraw deposits at major branches in Phnom Penh, causing confusion. Prince Bank said, "We operate independently and legally under the supervision and regulation of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC)," and that all services are being maintained normally.

Prince Group, which conducts a wide range of businesses including real estate, finance, hotels, and telecommunications in Cambodia and elsewhere, is suspected of constructing complexes used as casinos and scam workshops and operating them through proxies. The 'Taizi (太子) complex,' a crime complex near Phnom Penh where foreigners including Koreans were reportedly detained and used in scams such as voice-phishing, is also said to have been run by Prince Group.

Born in China in 1987, Chen Z acquired Cambodian nationality in 2014 and rapidly expanded his business by cultivating ties with politics.

Ahn Hye-won, Hankyung.com reporter anhw@hankyung.com