Who Is Chen Zhi and the So-Called Crime Network, Accused by the United States and United Kingdom of Massive Scam Operations?
The United Kingdom and US have enforced measures on a global syndicate based in Southeast Asia, allegedly orchestrating large-scale online scam operations that are suspected of using victims of human trafficking to defraud people around the world.
This criminal enterprise has flourished in recent years, especially in parts of Cambodia and Myanmar where countless individuals have been duped by false job adverts and then forced to carry out internet scams, including romance scams, often under the threat of torture.
The United States Treasury stated it had implemented what it described as the most significant measure to date in Southeast Asia, focusing on over a hundred individuals connected to the Prince Group, which the United Kingdom also penalized.
Those sanctioned include the leader of the alleged network, the accused figure, as well as more than a dozen individuals linked with his business operations throughout south-east Asia and the Pacific.
What is the Alleged Syndicate and the Identity of Chen Zhi?
According to authoritative sources, Chen Zhi, 38, also known as “the alias”, is the founder and chairman of the so-called conglomerate (the group), a multinational business conglomerate headquartered in the Southeast Asian nation which, according to its website, is centered around “real estate development, banking operations and retail offerings”.
On 14 October, American officials stated that Chen, who remains at large, had been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to launder money for overseeing Prince Group’s operation of fraud centers using coerced labor throughout the country.
His swift rise to riches has won him substantial clout, comprising reported advisory roles to Cambodia’s prime minister. Chen, a native of China from 1987, is believed to have acquired nationality in Cyprus and Vanuatu, and is also a citizen of Cambodia.
Reasons Behind They Been Sanctioned?
The Department of Justice alleged people had been held against their will in the fraudulent operation centers linked with the group and made to engage in a range of deceptive practices that stole billions of dollars from targets in the US and worldwide.
As part of the probe into the leader, the US and UK have seized $15 billion (£11.3bn) in cryptocurrency and blocked properties in London.
The frozen properties are thought to include a £12m mansion on a prestigious street, one of London’s most expensive addresses, a £95 million commercial building on Fenchurch Street in the center of the City of London’s financial district, and several flats in downtown London.
“Now the Federal Bureau of Investigation and allies carried out one of the largest financial fraud takedowns in recorded time,” said the bureau's head Kash Patel in a announcement about the measures.
Other Parties Is Involved?
Based on the senior justice official, the accused was the alleged “chief architect behind a sprawling cyber-fraud empire operating under the group's banner”. He was placed on a American blacklist this month alongside over a dozen additional persons suspected of being involved in his business empire.
More than 100 business entities – based in Cambodia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan among others – were also added to a blacklist because of suspected connections to Chen.
What will the Measures Do?
Cambodia’s interior ministry spokesperson told news agencies that the government would work together with foreign nations in the legal proceeding against Chen.
“We are not protecting individuals that violate the law,” the official said. “But it does not mean that we blame the group or its leader of engaging in illegal acts similar to the claims issued by the United States or UK.”
Despite the historic set of penalties, experts say the fraud sector is still massive, with the UN calculating in recent years that about 100,000 people were being forced to execute online scams in Cambodia, as well as at least 120,000 in the neighboring country and tens of thousands in other Southeast Asian states.
Given the prevalence of the enterprise in several Southeast Asian nations, some fear any arrests will create a gap for additional global syndicates to take over.
